LAST UPDATE | 17 Mar

FORMER TAOISEACH ENDA Kenny has said Micheál Martin “need not be fearful” to tell US President Donald Trump that Ireland’s “talent pool” will rise to meet whatever challenges are up ahead.

Speaking to The Journal at the glitzy Ireland Funds dinner in Washington DC this evening, which commands $1,000 a plate, Kenny recalled that when he was Taoiseach and Trump was in his first term as president, the US president had “a lot of time for Ireland”. 

The gala dinner this evening, which has been unlucky for some taoisigh in the past, went off without a hitch tonight, much to the relief of Martin. 

In the morning, the Taoiseach will have breakfast with Vice President JD Vance before going to the White House to meet with Trump. 

Kenny was one of the first foreign dignitaries and the first Taoiseach to meet Trump after his 2016 election, meeting him in the Oval Office for St Patrick’s Day in March 2017. 

Donald Trump and Enda Kenny in 2017. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

“You know, we would have talked about golf and all of that, but I did remind him [Trump] that long before Lady Liberty raised her lamp over New York Harbour, that we were those immigrants.

“And I also reminded the president later that that in the context of legitimising young Irish people who might be undocumented here to become American citizens that they would do as their forefathers did, live for America, work for America, and in many cases, die for America,” said Kenny. 

Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny in Washington DC for the Ireland Funds dinner. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

During his speech at the shamrock ceremony in 2017, Kenny was praised for his speech where he spoke about immigration, at a time when Trump’s wall on the Mexican border was a talking point. 

Asked about the pressure on Martin to raise certain issues with Trump in the Oval Office, Kenny said “we’re all different, of course. And politicians are politicians, and they’ve got their own views”.

He said different taoisigh have raised different issues in the White House over the past few years, but in his view, the visit “by whatever Irish Taoiseach to whatever American president is about the links between both entities”.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the Ireland Funds dinner this evening. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Much like today, Kenny said there were calls for him to boycott the visit to the White House.

“I had the same argument myself in 2011 right up to 2017, that you shouldn’t go to the White House. This is an opportunity that no other country has,” he said. 

“So irrespective of what one’s views are. It is a really important,” said Kenny, adding that  a critical element of good connections in politics is that whoever is Taoiseach, they keep up the tradition of the St Patrick’s Day visit. 

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He said many other countries are jealous of the access Ireland gets this week in Washington.

Never let St Patrick’s Day White House visit ‘slip from our hands’ 

“That’s something that we should not under any circumstances let slip from our hands,” he said. 

“Obviously, there’s a place for sorting out global politics and global controversies such as we have now. But tomorrow’s meeting, I think, is for the Taoiseach to reaffirm that Ireland is not losing sight of the opportunity here in America,” said Kenny. 

Speaking about the opportunities in artificial intelligence, Irish workers will meet the challenges the changing world brings, said Kenny, adding that “the Taoiseach need not be fearful of being able to say that here in America and broadcast it to the world”.

Stripe Co Founder Patrick Collison speaking during the Ireland Funds National Gala in Washington DC. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Stripe CEO Patrick Collison

Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of Stripe, was also in attendance tonight at the gala dinner. In a speech, he noted Ireland’s transformation from a poor European nation to a wealthy one, influenced by globalisation.

Collison praised Martin for his leadership during challenging times and his ability to leverage new opportunities.

Kenny said the Taoiseach of the day is in the US to talk about opportunities that are open to people because of the relationship between the US and Ireland, highlighting how the young Irish have been able to “thrive and prosper and be world leaders”.