Micheál Martin praises Trump’s progress on brokering peace ahead of meeting
Taoiseach Micheál Martin speaking at a breakfast meeting hosted by US Vice President JD Vance at his official residence in Washington DC, , as part of his week long visit to the US. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has hailed Donald Trump’s focus and “progress” on brokering peace since he returned to the White House.
US vice president JD Vance highlighted the “important bonds of friendship” between his country and Ireland as he met with Mr Martin in Washington DC.
Mr Martin and his wife Mary were met by Mr Vance and his wife Usha at the US Naval Observatory ahead of a breakfast meeting which kicks off a series of engagements to mark St Patrick’s Day.
The Taoiseach will later take part in a highly anticipated meeting with President Trump at the White House, which is expected to touch on Ireland’s trading relationship with the US.
Mr Trump will be presented with a bowl of shamrock as the centrepiece of the Irish Government’s major overseas diplomatic push in the run-up to St Patrick’s Day on March 17.
Speaking following his meeting with Mr Vance, the Taoiseach said that peace on the island of Ireland was “a signature achievement” of US foreign policy and said that Ireland was ready to “play our part” in ending other conflicts around the world.
“Nowhere is the strength of the US-Irish relationship more in evidence than in our own peace process,” Mr Martin said.
“Politicians from both sides of the aisle rose to the occasion, and the lasting peace we enjoy today on our island is a signature achievement of US foreign policy.
“This story of peace is one that we both wrote together. We know that building peace is a difficult and painstaking task, and we are ready to play our part in supporting work to end conflict and to secure peace in Ukraine or in the Middle East or wherever.
“We welcome very much the unrelenting focus and effort that President Trump and his administration has brought to this task from his very first days in office, and we welcome the progress that is clearly being made.” Mr Vance said the breakfast meeting with Mr Martin was to remind people of the strength of the relationship between Ireland and the US.
“One of the things we try to do with this breakfast is just remind people of the important bonds of friendship between the United States and Ireland,” he said.
Sporting a pair of shamrock socks which he showed to the room, Mr Vance added: “The president is a very big fan of conservative dress, and so if he notices these socks, you have to defend this as an important part of cementing the Irish-American relationship.” Mr Martin thanked Mr Vance for his “warm welcome and hospitality” and joked that he would need to “adjust very rapidly” his “conservative” dress sense after seeing Mr Vance’s socks.
“The United States has been a steadfast friend of Ireland for centuries. Indeed, the United States was the first country to recognise our long, soft independence,” Mr Martin said.
Among those at the meeting are US health secretary Robert F Kennedy and Ireland’s ambassador to the US Geraldine Byrne Nason.
Mr Martin has said that a “two-way street” of investment is something he intends to highlight in his later discussions with President Trump in a bid to address concerns he may voice around a trade imbalance between the two countries.
The meeting comes amid heightened concern that Mr Trump’s protectionist approach to tariffs and tax could pose a significant risk to an Irish economy that is in large part sustained by long-standing investment by US multinationals.
Other matters of concern which may be raised in some format on Wednesday include legal status for undocumented Irish citizens living in the US, as well as the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Mr Martin will be the first EU leader to meet Mr Trump following the proposals for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine and the lifting of the US suspension of military aid and intelligence-sharing with Kyiv.
The Fianna Fail leader is also to travel to the US Capitol building for the Friends of Ireland luncheon, hosted by House Speaker Mike Johnson, before returning to the White House for the traditional shamrock ceremony.
The White House engagements come on the third full day of Mr Martin’s visit to the US, with him having started his overseas trip in Austin, Texas.
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