TAOISEACH Michael Martin has received a formal invite from Donald Trump to attend the White House for a St Patrick’s Day celebration.
The date set for the Irish leader to meet the 47th US President is March 12, the week before St Patrick‘s Day.
The visit is a long running tradition[/caption]
Trump has given Martin a formal invitation to the White House[/caption]
It came after speculation that the invite may not be sent, and the news that Sinn Fein would boycott the White House celebration over Trump’s recent Gaza proposals.
But it’s understood that in his letter to the Taoiseach, Trump congratulated Martin on his recent appointment to the role and highlighted the long history and bond between the two countries.
A spokesperson for Michael Martin told RTE that the Taoiseach is delighted with the invitation and is looking forward to meeting the US President.
And they said that the Irish embassy in Washington will work with the White House to arrange further details for the visit.
The meeting of the American President with the Irish Taoiseach is a year-long tradition, in which the Taoiseach presents a bowl of clover to the President in celebration of the nation’s shared history.
Yesterday, Martin met with Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelensky in Shannon Airport.
The leader of the war-torn country was making a stopover on his own way to the White House to meet with Donald Trump.
The two are set to come fact to face today to discuss a deal involving Ukraine’s rare mineral supply.
Their meeting will come just days after Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to blast Zelensky as a “dictator”.
Trump recently opened peace talks with Russia in a meeting with Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin – without Ukraine or European leaders at the table.
Tanaiste Simon Harris shot back by claiming there should be “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” and said the same goes for discussions about European security.
And last week, last week, Ireland pledged to donate €50million worth of non-lethal military aid to Ukraine.
As a neutral country, it can not give military aid such as weapon but can instead offer support in the form of health aid and equipment.
Ireland has already pledged more than €200million in aid to the war-torn country, but this has been blocked by a Veto from Hungary.
To get around the block, Ireland will give the €50million aid directly to Ukraine.
On Wednesday, politicians in the Dail held a moment of silence to mark the three year anniversary of the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
A spokesperson for Martin said he is delighted with the invite[/caption]
