Elaine Loughlin: Donald Trump puts united Ireland back on agenda during Irish visit
US President Donald Trump meets with Taosieach Micheál Martin at Farmleigh House in Phoenix Park. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
After urging party members to attend anti-Trump rallies this weekend, Mary Lou McDonald must now feel more than a little uneasy to find herself in full agreement with the US president.
Donald Trump, having touched down in Dublin on Saturday morning, put the thorny issue of a united Ireland right back on the agenda, giving his full backing to a united Ireland.
“I will tell you, I'd love to see it unified. I have friends on both sides, great people. They're Irish people. How can they be bad, right?” Mr Trump said, describing the prospect of a United Ireland as “fantastic”.
While Sinn Féin has repeatedly taken issue with Mr Trump’s stance on Gaza, boycotting the annual St Patrick’s events in Washington this year as a result, Ms McDonald and Mr Trump are now very much on the same page when it comes to the future of this island.
Speaking after a bilateral meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin in Farmleigh House, the American leader said he would “love to see” a united Ireland.
His enthusiasm for unity is such that he is willing to put noses out of joint, specifically that of UK prime minister Andy Burnham.
Mr Burnham recently got himself into hot water for suggesting that the issue of a border poll is “off the table”, so he is unlikely to appreciate what has always been a sensitive and highly emotive issue being raised yet again.
Acknowledging this, Mr Trump said: “Now the UK will have something to say about this, but I think it would be a great thing. I mean, how can it be bad?”
Meeting Mr Trump was always going to be a political tightrope walk for Taoiseach Micheál Martin, but the comments on a united Ireland now cast a different light on an expected meeting between Martin and Burnham in the UK next week.
Speaking to a crowd at the US Ambassador’s residence in Phoenix Park, Mr Trump doubled down on his remarks, claiming that a united Ireland would be a “cool” thing to happen.
It leaves both Ms McDonald and Mr Martin in awkward positions, albeit for very different reasons.
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