From Rocky Balboa to Ronnie Delany: Taoiseach's US trip kicks off with sporting theme

Ronnie Delany, Rocky Balboa and the World Cup all played a part in the Taoiseach's trip to Philadelphia, writes Tadgh McNally 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his wife Mary Martin pose next to the statue of Rocky Balboa in Philadelphia. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

This time last year, Micheál Martin was sitting in the Oval Office as the US president highlighted how the Taoiseach's father was a champion boxer at home in Cork.

Donald Trump joked with the Taoiseach, saying that he didn’t intend to “mess around” with the Fianna Fáil leader after hearing his father, Paddy ‘The Champ’ Martin, had been a “great fighter”.

“A very good defensive boxer. He was a good boxer, boxed for Ireland,” the Taoiseach replied.

This year, as the Taoiseach returns to the States, boxing is back front and centre as Mr Martin tours the City of Brotherly Love. His first day in Philadelphia was marked by a stop at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

But he wasn’t stopping in to check out paintings from the Early American gallery. The Taoiseach was instead heading up to take a look at the Rocky Balboa statue.

The 76 steps leading up are colloquially known as the Rocky Steps, made famous by the 1976 film starring Sylvester Stallone.

Martin was swamped by tourists with phones out, trying to catch a snap of the Taoiseach.

Most of, if not all, wouldn’t have had a clue who he was five minutes earlier, but jumped up upon seeing a massive motorcade, flocks of journalists and Secret Service agents thronging around him.

Some individuals approached the press, checking in to ask journalists who the Taoiseach was.

He opted to walk up the steps, instead of taking the run up like Rocky, and kept his hands firmly at his side rather than throwing them aloft.

Earlier in the day, the Taoiseach was out meeting with Philadelphia’s Irish American community, as he attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Irish Memorial.

Irish dancers paraded around the memorial statue, as bagpipers played on in the background, after the Taoiseach faced some difficulty with a wreath that fell partially apart upon laying it.

In the afternoon, he left the city centre behind and travelled to Villanova University, where the late Ronnie Delany had trained before winning a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics in the 1,500m, something no Irish athlete has repeated since.

Paying tribute to Delany, the Taoiseach told a gathered audience at the Joan and John Mullin Hall that he “ate, drank and slept” the mile while at Villanova.

“Ronnie’s record of achievements in the indoor mile for Villanova is unparalleled, running undefeated for five years, in indoor competition in America,” Mr Martin said.

The Taoiseach was also quick to point out the upcoming World Cup, due to be hosted partially in the States, saying he hoped there would be an “Irish team among the contenders”.

“And, if I’ve done my calculations right, if they go far enough in the competition they could even play here in Philadelphia," Mr Martin told the gathered audience.

“But we won’t count our chickens yet.” 

Bob Gessler President of the Irish Memorial Board of Directors speaks to Taoiseach Micheal Martin (left) during a tour of the Irish Memorial in Philadelphia. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

The Taoiseach’s visit to Philadelphia is brief, with the Fianna Fáil leader set to attend the city’s annual St Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday afternoon, before speeding off to Washington DC.

Mr Martin is expected to take a similar approach to the US president as he did last year, touting the importance of the transatlantic relationship between Ireland and America.

But pressure is on Mr Martin to raise the ongoing war in Iran with Mr Trump, given the rising cost of energy stemming from the increasing price of oil.

This means the Taoiseach might need to take a leaf out his father’s book and be a defensive boxer in his Oval Office tangle with Mr Trump.