Irish Examiner view: High water mark for relationship between Ireland and the US

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar acknowledged the positive relationship between the countries as his St Patrick's Day visit to the US continues

Leo Varadkar, US president Joe Biden, and speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson leaving the annual friends of Ireland luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC during the Taoiseach's visit to the US for St Patrick's Day. 

St Patrick’s weekend is traditionally a time when it feels good to be Irish, wrapped in — as it usually is — with Cheltenham week, international rugby, and bowls of shamrock being delivered to the White House.

This year is no exception, although a period of thoughtful reflection on Ireland’s influence in the world might commend itself as our political leaders spread themselves across the globe, along with considering the questions our country now has to face as it steps ever forward as a meaningful influencer on the geo-political stage.

One of the most important of those is how we might manage any forthcoming change in the political temper of the US.

Relationships are at a high water mark, as the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar acknowledged this week when he said it was “stronger and deeper than ever”.

Ireland is one of the top ten investors in the US and the impact of technology, R&D, and pharma firms here is well charted.

Nearly 1,000 US companies are located in Ireland, supporting — directly and indirectly — some 350,000 jobs.

Those firms contribute around €30bn to the Irish economy through wages, goods and services, and capital expenditure.

Yesterday, Mr Varadkar was meeting vice president Kamala Harris before a bilateral with Mr Biden. There will be another meeting tomorrow, and Mr Varadkar might be forgiven for thinking that this will be as good as it gets in the event of a probable return of Donald Trump to the Oval Office after November 5.

Ireland has been a prominent critic of Israel after its response to the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, and continues to press for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

It has partnered with Spain to urge the EU to review its €47bn trade agreement with Israel, which will be debated at the organisation’s Foreign Affairs Council next week.

Quite how Ireland will deal with a Republican incumbent who speaks of the current Tel Aviv government “finishing the problem” is one of the mutually contradictory worries of the next few months.

Equally, Ireland — although not part of Nato — will not be able to stand aloof from the approaching row about Europe’s financial contribution to mutual defence in the event of Donald Trump’s return. It is not possible to have pronounced views on resolving the conflict in Ukraine without placing some stake money on the table.

While Gaza has captured the most domestic attention, the possibility of Vladimir Putin’s forever war poses the greatest current implications for Ireland. Just this week, the Irish Red Cross warned that new accommodation policies for Ukrainians fleeing the conflict will generate “further strain” on the rental market. Displaced people could be in “direct competition with the general public” the agency says.

It’s some 62 years since Dean Acheson, secretary of state under the post-war president Harry S Truman, declared that Britain “had lost an empire but not yet found a role,” a process which is not yet concluded.

What is relevant is to ask how Ireland, which in a century has become a mature and wealthy democracy, will be called upon to shoulder greater responsibilities for continental colleagues — and the extent to which we are willing to do that.

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World is in 'a terrible state o’ chassis' 

A century ago this month, Dublin and Ireland was provided with a representation of dysfunctional family life which has persisted to this day and spawned many imitations.

The Abbey Theatre’s production of Juno and the Paycock was the second of the Dublin Trilogy by the chronicler of the working classes, Seán O’Casey, and was set during the Irish Civil War.

It was preceded by The Shadow of the Gunman (1923) and The Plough and the Stars (1926), plays which have been in near continuous production somewhere in the world ever since.

Juno and the Paycock is set in the tenements of the capital, and at its centre is a loafing family head called “Captain Jack” Boyle, so titled because of exaggerated yarns about his short period in the merchant marine. Most of his time (and money) is spent in the local pub with his reprobate friend Joxer Daly.

The starring role of “Captain Jack” was played by Barry Fitzgerald, who was the Cillian Murphy of his day. He moved to Hollywood in 1936 and established a fine career as a character actor, winning an Oscar in 1944 starring as the priest Father Fitzgibbon opposite Bing Crosby in Going My Way.

Fitzgerald was chosen as Best Supporting Actor, but was nominated simultaneously for Best Actor which went to Crosby.

The rules were changed the following year to prevent dual nominations.

Dysfunctional Irish families are often portrayed now by the likes of the Kinsellas in Kin, the McDonnells and the Cassidys in Tourist 2, or Nidge and co in Love/Hate. However, although the portrayals of fecklessness and violence may appear more modern, something is as true now as it was then: Captain Jack’s observation that “the whole world is in a terrible state o’ chassis”.

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Shock factor gone from RSA adverts

There are some behavioural statistics which are in such conflict with every tenet of common sense, that they appear to have been created by some evil fake news bot lurking in the dark web.

Sadly, the findings of the Road Safety Authority (RSA) — issued in collaboration with An Garda Síochána ahead of the St Patrick’s bank holiday weekend — appear fully grounded in fact.

Ireland, the RSA says, underwent a “big societal shift” away from compliance with the rules of the road during covid-19 — with speeding now a “more universally accepted behaviour”.

The RSA and gardaí urged road users to stay safe after two more people died on Irish roads, bringing the total so far this year to 42 — three more than at the same time last year. 2023 was a bad year, with the number of road deaths increasing by 19%, compared to 2022.

A total of 184 people died in 173 fatal collisions in 2023, compared to 155 deaths in 149 collisions in 2022.

To coincide with the appeal, the RSA published survey results which found one in 10 people have reported driving after drinking alcohol in the last 12 months.

One in four motorists say driving short distances after having a drink is acceptable, while a similar proportion admitted they have been over the limit when driving the morning after a night out.

The idea that, for a significant number, the “new normal” involves drinking more and driving faster is a mind-wrecker for anyone prepared to debate the arguments for more than a nano-second.

More people are also driving under the influence of drugs.

RSA director Sarah O’Connor said there was a substantial move away from normal driving behaviour during the pandemic, which was not as noticeable at the time due to the lack of traffic on the roads.

Previous levels of compliance have not been restored.

Ms O’Connor said they had seen a significant number of young people die on our roads over the past few years, as well as pedestrian fatalities.

We can lament, also, the level-headed conclusion by the road safety experts that graphic campaign adverts have no impact on certain cohorts whose senses have been dulled by video games, movies, and social media.

Ms O’Connor said: “The research now says, for younger men, they’re very used to violence in movies.

“They may be very used to violence in gaming, and that it does not have the shock factor for them. We may perceive it as being shocking, but it does not land as shock with that particular age cohort.”

Well done to us for breeding unshockable youngsters. There will be further consequences from that which will bring us all regret.