“Diplomacy” over Decency: Why Ireland’s Politicians Shouldn’t Go to Washington on St. Patrick’s Day

By Daniel Rankin

On St. Patrick’s Day, Micheál Martin Goes to Washington, in a tradition that follows Irish leaders across the island display the country’s economic, historical and cultural relationship with the United States.

It is no surprise that much of the writing in this paper, particularly opinions, is dedicated to US matters. As Séamus Wagner wrote last issue, there is something in the student activism here. Public demonstrations are very often focused on international issues; that is no coincidence. Protests against our very own American Chancellor, Hillary Clinton, are clearly also local matters that involve students, Northern Ireland and the globe alike. What’s more, this is with Ireland as arguably the most pro-Palestine country in Western Europe, and the youth the most sympathetic demographic. [1]

A BUSINESSMAN DOING BUSINESS

“It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business” uttered rising crime boss Michael Corleone in The Godfather. With Gaza, Trump has taken a “businessman, doing business” approach to ethnic cleansing. He has “concepts of a plan” for taking over Greenland, and aims to “do a little trolling” by declaring trade wars on Canada, Mexico, et cetera. Those “cetera” include us, with a trade war waged on Ireland vis-a-vis the EU that could directly affect a third of the former’s exports.

The image of the Taoiseach going to Washington is one that is clearly of diplomacy, and it is a now-longstanding tradition. It is that logic – the logic of getting business done: raw, unbridled business tactics as natural and necessary in politics is a justification for this form of diplomacy; a subservient one. It is indeed in no way rational for Irish politicians to abandon America, to whom Ireland exports more than the UK. [2] It is however that ceremonial betrayal of Irish celebration; to engage and respect a distant POTUS on the 17th March is just that: a subservient pseudopolitik, on all of the days to be “not personal”.

THE VEEP: A SWAMP-DRAINING “PUTSCH” IN MUNICH

Vice President JD Vance has employed Trump’s swamp-draining rhetoric, but not addressed to American institutions like the Senate or House, but its European allies at the Munich Security Conference on Friday. He avoided much mention of Ukraine, denied enmity of “external” countries like Russia and China, and proclaimed of the “threat from within – the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” [4] Vance has effectively and hypocritically threatened the entire continent, with criticism of European infringement on free speech, whilst warming friendships with Russian and Chinese dictatorships.

Vance took no action, he made a speech. It is contrary to any political actualisation to merely speak; Vance’s words can only mean a putsch if European politicians, such as the rising AfD in Germany’s election on Sunday (no coincidence), live up to his commanded American chuavinism (Trump as the “new sheriff in town”). A way out of that is to – simply or not – withdraw from the American extreme-right rhetoric that is now completely mainstream across the pond. It is perhaps no surprise that most mainstream anti-EU parties in Western Europe are sympathetic to an increasingly anti-EU Trump: Reform UK, AfD, National Rally, and Ireland’s own far-right microparties. Vance speaks of America and Europe as if they are part of the same world, with the emphasis on values that America has which Europe “retreats” from. It can only be a necessarily European effort against this sense of owing.

THE NORTH

The SDLP have, as they had last year under Colum Eastwood, made the commitment to boycotting the transatlantic visit. As the second-largest nationalist party in the north (and therefore perhaps the fourth on the island) it may be the case that their boycott has little effect on on American views. Claire Hanna stated that she, particularly regarding Gaza, cannot apprehend how “people could go over and pretend this is normal”. [5] Sinn Féin, largest in Stormont, have been going through a significant “feverish debate” within the party, with no clear position this year as of yet. [6]

Trump appointed Mick Mulvaney against NI Special Envoy in his first term in March 2020, lasting only 10 months until not his presidential transition, but Mulvaney’s resignation in protest of the January 6th attacks. Joe Kennedy III, Biden’s 2-year special envoy, said he hopes that Trump appoints a new special envoy, but this hasn’t occurred yet (indeed Kennedy wasn’t appointed until nearly 2 years into Biden’s term). The NI-Trump relationship is hard to pinpoint as a whole, but the party lines are often stark. Contrary to the critical but differing-in-engagement SDLP and Sinn Féin, the DUP’s Gavin Robinson, and Sammy Wilson (both MPs) “lauded” Trump for disrupting Irish political leadership, with the latter saying that St. Patrick’s Day boycotters should be “exposed”. [7] This follows Ian Paisley Jr.’s attendance of Trump’s inauguration, but also deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly’s diplomatic statement of respecting the office, “not about what his personal views are”. [8]

ALTERNATIVE DIPLOMACY

Varadkar and Sinn Féin alike argued last year that it was an opportunity that very few other nations receive to be invited to the White House, with Michelle O’Neill emphasising the intended “pursuit of peace”. [9] The uniqueness of that is true, but perhaps precisely the point: diplomacy can be done in many other ways, especially when there is a mutually beneficial economic relationship between the two countries. No other country goes to America on their most iconic day of the year. It is admittedly difficult to say that Ireland has a wedge at all in influencing America, but a boycott is not an anti-American statement, instead a commitment to an Irish holiday over feebly expressing disagreements with American foreign policy.

This article emphasises the stance specifically against Washington, to which, of the ROI government, only Martin will be attending. Otherwise there is Tánaiste Harris in Philadelphia and New York, and cabinet ministers variously travelling to California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Montana. In all, 38 Irish representatives take exodus from the island to many nations on that date. None of those countries, from Spain to Australia, see more than one representative, except for the UK with three, and the United States with nine. [3]

What’s stark about Trump is that he is, in practice, not merely attacking a foreign out-group, but his own fellow citizens, with tariffs potentially having the effect of “depressing US economic growth, contributing to a higher rate of inflation, and those effects will be worse if the other countries retaliate in kind”. [10] Like his first term, it may be the case that his trade war makes his opponent (previously China) stronger and America weaker; Trump is an unsubtle warrior, and in this period we see the “warlike man attacking himself”. It doesn’t require European aggression or even opposition to America; if “boycotting the White House won’t be noticed”, then that is the precise point of futility in going.

As Jefferson Smith went to Washington in ’39 and successfully uncovered corruption, it is hard to uncover Trump as being corrupt or dishonest; he is rather fantastically open about it. It doesn’t matter if he didn’t end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, nor does it matter that egg prices doubled in the past month. Trump’s words are dishonest, but that doesn’t matter for a Machiavellian. Diplomacy is, above all, about compatibility. On Gaza, Donald Trump has recently stated the following:

• “I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza.”
• “I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza.”
• “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting.”
• “They’ve lived like hell; they’ve lived like you’re living in hell.”
• “Gaza is not a place for people to be living.”

But maybe we should be more optimistic; Gazans “will be resettled in areas where they can live a beautiful life”, in a wonderful “Riviera”.

A “boycott” is an intrinsically Irish tradition from the era of Parnell and the Land League. Practically all arguments against boycotts are that they are not practical, diplomatic, or are outright mistargeted, but let’s be clear: the Irish state visit is one form of capital-D Diplomacy. The state visit on St. Patrick’s Day is not merely about maintaining a rightly compatible economic relationship with America: it is about spending the most Irish day of the year establishing compatibility with the author of those quotations above.

References

[1] Frayer, L., Al-Kassab, F., (2025), “Why Ireland is one of the most pro-Palestinian nations in the world”. NPR. 14th Mar 2025.
https://www.npr.org/2024/03/14/1233395830/ireland-pro-palestinian

[2] “Ranking of the top trading partners of the United States for trade goods in 2023, by import value”. Statista.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/186601/ranking-of-the-largest-trading-partners-for-us-imports/

[3] “Government announces St Patrick’s Day Programme 2025”, Department of Foreign Affairs, 12th Feb 2025.
https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/747e6-government-announces-st-patricks-day-programme-2025/

[4] “Read: JD Vance’s full speech on the fall of Europe”, The Spectator, 14th Feb 2025. https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/jd-vance-what-i-worry-about-is-the-threat-from-within/

[5] “SDLP not attending White House St Patrick’s Day event over Gaza”, BBC News, 11th Feb 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3lq33v2jdo

[6] “Letter: ‘Feverish debate within Sinn Féin’ about accepting invitation to Trump’s St Patrick’s Day”, The Irish News, 12th Feb 2025. https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/sinn-fein-leaders-not-for-turning-on-white-house-st-patricks-day-celebrations-as-gaza-death-toll-reaches-almost-30000-OSC45JRGGBFNDGUGWXHE5NEQEY/

[7] Hargan, G., DUP claims new Trump era spreading panic within Irish Government”, The Belfast Telegraph, 9th Feb 2025. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/dup-claims-new-trump-era-spreading-panic-within-irish-government/a38622456.html

[8] McCurry, C., Black, R., “Michelle O’Neill will ‘judge’ invite from US president to St Patrick’s Day events”, The Irish News, 21st Jan 2025. https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/michelle-oneill-will-judge-invite-from-us-president-to-st-patricks-day-events-6R7W2DX44VCTHJ7WG7GKZ4EZUM/

[9] McCambridge, J., “Sinn Fein says it will use St Patrick’s Day US trip to push for peace”, The Independent, 24th Jan 2025. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/sinn-fein-irish-ireland-palestinian-washington-dc-b2484065.html

[10] Greenhouse, S., “Why Trump tariffs will be ‘very bad for America and for the world’”, The Guardian, 31st Jan 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/31/trump-tariffs-us-economy