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Taoiseach Micheál Martin has been invited to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House to mark St Patrick’s Day.
The news of the invite removes doubt cast over the engagement, which acts as a link between the two countries. It is customary for Irish leaders to travel to the US every March for an audience with the president, during which they present the host with a shamrock, which is a tradition dating back to President Harry Truman in 1952.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Taoiseach said Mr Martin is delighted to accept, and is looking forward to meeting President Trump. They also said that the Embassy in Washington will now continue to engage with the White House team on the details of the visit.
The meeting will take place on March 12 – the week before St Patrick’s Day.
In the invitation, Trump congratulated the Taoiseach on his recent appointment and highlighted the special bond between the Irish and American people.
It comes one week after Sinn Féin vowed to snub President Trump on St. Patrick’s Day, and after pressure from the opposition ahead af the expected White House Meeting.
“I, like many other Irish people, have listened in horror to calls from the president of the United States for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes and the permanent seizure of Palestinian land,” Mary Lou McDonald said in the letter.
Meanwhile, speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said that it was an honour to have been invited.
“I don’t think we should become too concerned about the identity of the person that holds the office of President of the United States,” he said.
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