Trump meets Irish president Catherine Connolly
Donald Trump arrived at Áras an Uachtaráin, the Irish president’s official residence, where he was received by Catherine Connolly.
Here is a report from PA on the encounter:
Ms Connolly stood at the end of the steps in the Portico to greet Mr Trump and then led the American president down the Francini corridor and into the state reception room.
Ms Connolly, a long-standing critic of the US president, invited him to sign the visitors’ book in the state reception room.
They then proceeded to the drawing room and into a hallway where Mr Trump was introduced to dignitaries.
Key events
Some photos on the newswires of Trump’s stop at Áras an Uachtaráin:
PA reports that the guest list for Trump’s appearance at Deerfield, the US ambassador’s official residence, is expected to include some familiar Irish faces, among them Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary and entertainer Michael Flatley. Trump is due to speak from a marquee on the grounds of the historic Phoenix Park residence, which has been suitably festooned with American flags.
And, in a particularly Trumpian touch, the sound checks have included some of the president’s favourite tunes, among them the Village People’s YMCA and his traditional walk-on number, Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA.
Visit highlights ‘deep interpersonal links’ between US and Ireland, says Irish deputy premier
Tánaiste Simon Harris has been speaking to reporters at Dublin airport after Trump’s arrival. He said he was “pleased to be here on behalf of the Irish government to welcome the president of the United States to Ireland”.
“He’s very much looking forward to getting to Doonbeg,” he said, according to PA.
“He’s a man who obviously loves golf, and he’s very proud of his Doonbeg resort and is looking forward to getting down there.”
Harris noted that it is Trump’s grandchildren’s first visit to Ireland and said he understood there was “great personal excitement” about the trip.
“Also, some of the president’s most senior staff, including Monica Crowley, his chief of protocol at the White House, hailed with very significant Cork links as well,” he added.
“Alongside the politics, alongside some of the pageantry of a US president arriving in Ireland, there’s also a reminder of those deep interpersonal links between our two countries.”
Trump meets Irish president Catherine Connolly
Donald Trump arrived at Áras an Uachtaráin, the Irish president’s official residence, where he was received by Catherine Connolly.
Here is a report from PA on the encounter:
Ms Connolly stood at the end of the steps in the Portico to greet Mr Trump and then led the American president down the Francini corridor and into the state reception room.
Ms Connolly, a long-standing critic of the US president, invited him to sign the visitors’ book in the state reception room.
They then proceeded to the drawing room and into a hallway where Mr Trump was introduced to dignitaries.
The US president arrived in Dublin on the controversially gifted Boeing aircraft given to him by the Qatari royal family.
The $400m ‘palace in the sky’ was converted for presidential use, but questions remain over how well equipped it is to protect the president from potential threats. During a trip to Turkey in July, Trump was reportedly moved off the aircraft after a possible Iranian threat, while other senior officials and journalists remained on board.
As the Guardian’s Joseph Gedeon reports, the circumstances surrounding the incident were rather dramatic:
It later emerged that Trump had in fact been spirited away via a catering truck on to a separate, older aircraft after officials learned of a possible Iranian threat in Ankara, leaving the plane he had boarded to fly on as a decoy. Aboard the original, possibly targeted flight were the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio; the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent; several senior aides; and the traveling press pool – the latter, who were definitely not told about the threat, were asked to keep their window shades closed.
Read the full report here:
Trump landed in Dublin just moments ago, disembarking from Air Force One and being greeted by the tánaiste (deputy prime minister), Simon Harris. Here are some pictures from the newswires:
Trump begins two-day visit to Ireland
Donald Trump has touched down in Dublin this morning for a two-day visit to Ireland, where he will hold talks with the Irish president and prime minister, and play golf.
The weekend visit coincides with the Irish Open, a major golf tournament taking place at the beachfront Doonberg golf course owned by the US president.
He will meet with president Catherine Connolly, who has previously been highly critical of Trump, not least because he mistakenly referred to her as a man. As the Guardian’s Irish correspondent, Rory Carroll, reports, the meeting has prompted headlines asking: “What could possibly go wrong?”
Many in Ireland are rooting for Connolly to let rip at Trump for his policies and rhetoric on immigrants and the Middle East. Others hope she will stifle any criticisms to avoid provoking a visitor who could upend Ireland’s economy.”
Read the full report here:
Trump is then scheduled to meet the taoiseach Micheál Martin, with whom he has a more cordial relationship, before heading to the US ambassador’s official residence at Deerfield to speak with American and Irish business leaders. Then it’s off to his golf resort at Doonbeg for the night, before another day of golf on Sunday and his return to Washington.
The visit has left some Dubliners distinctly unimpressed. “He’s causing mayhem in this city because he wants to go down to Doonbeg and play golf,” taxi driver Christopher Fox told the Associated Press. “The world’s in turmoil and this fella’s down playing golf.”
We’ll be following the action throughout the day and bringing you all the latest from the fairway, the political stage and everywhere in between.
