Tadgh McNally: Micheál Martin may face storm during Oval Office meeting with Trump

Severe storm warning in Washington DC is not the only threat hanging over Taoiseach's Oval Office shamrock ceremony

Taoiseach Micheál Martin addressing the business leaders' luncheon at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington DC yesterday as part of his St Patrick's Day visit to the US. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

If Taoiseach Micheál Martin was worried about Tuesday's visit to the Oval Office, he didn’t show it on Monday morning.

He told reporters in the Willard International Hotel, just a stone’s throw from the White House, that he did not have a specific gameplan in mind when he meets US president Donald Trump on St Patrick’s Day.

“I’m not behind some counter somewhere or at a desk gaming stuff, I don’t have time for that at the moment,” Mr Martin said.

Severe storm warnings were in place across Washington DC, with journalists joking that Storm Micheál might blow through the White House quickly on Tuesday to get to a more favourable climate in Brussels for an EU Council summit on Thursday.

Taoiseach upbeat 

The Taoiseach, however, appeared to be confident about the meeting, saying he was looking forward to the meeting with Mr Trump.

“This is a week in which what we’re essentially doing — and we have been doing for many, many years — is honouring, affirming a very historic relationship between the United States and Ireland,” Mr Martin said.

“Every year there will be obviously different controversies and different issues, but the fundamental consistency of what we’re doing is affirming the centrality of the Irish story to the growth and development of America.”

While the Government and the Taoiseach will be looking for this to be an easy meeting between two world leaders, there are some potential pitfalls, including the ongoing US war in Iran or the appearance of a certain former MMA fighter.

The war in Iran is likely to be broached, with Mr Martin likely to tread a fine line, given that the US did not get a UN mandate for the mission.

President Connolly's comments 

Ministers have insisted there is no gap between the Government’s position and that of President Catherine Connolly, after she criticised what she called the “normalisation of war”. 

Her comments were seen as a veiled criticism of the Trump administration’s conduct.

Mr Martin is expected to continue pressing for de-escalation and a diplomatic route to peace in the region.

McGregor a possible disruptor

“Successive Irish governments have pursued and supported a rules-based approach to global conflict,” he said. “The world is in a very challenging situation, and no one likes war. We certainly don’t as a country, and we want a specific resolution of these issues.”

While the Taoiseach says he’s not worried about an Oval Office ambush, as happened to Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South Africa president Cyril Ramaphosa, it’s possible the annual shamrock ceremony could be disrupted by someone like Conor McGregor.

The disgraced former MMA fighter was praised as “great” by Mr Trump during a visit to the White House last year. 

What caused even greater discomfort for the Government was that McGregor’s invitation to the White House for St Patrick’s Day came days after the Taoiseach had presented a bowl of shamrock to the US president.

McGregor used his appearance in the White House press briefing room to slam the Government, claiming it had abandoned “the voices of the people of Ireland”.  He also criticised its record on immigration, alleging that towns had been “overrun”.

The Taoiseach rejected his message as not reflecting “the spirit of St Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland”.

It remains uncertain as to whether McGregor will make his way to Washington for the ceremony.

McGregor 'the very worst of us'

In London on Monday, Tánaiste Simon Harris hammered McGregor as representing “the very worst of us”.

Sources have indicated the Taoiseach will take a similar tack to his meeting with Mr Trump as he did last year, with a focus on the personal relationship between the two men.

It is likely Mr Martin will draw on Mr Trump’s Irish links through his hotel and golf resort at Doonbeg. This connection could serve as a natural opening for the Taoiseach to reiterate what he has described as a “standing invitation” for Mr Trump to visit Ireland, particularly with the Irish Open due to be held at the Clare course in September.

With the poor weather in Washington likely to have subsided by today, the Taoiseach will hope there are no storm clouds over the White House for St Patrick’s Day.

With the poor weather in Washington set have subsided by Tuesday, the Taoiseach will hope there are no storm clouds over the White House for St Patrick’s Day.

• Tadgh McNally, Political Reporter, in Washington DC