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AN IRISH TAOISEACH coming to the defence of a British prime minister in the Oval Office.
That was, perhaps, not on the bingo card for this year’s St Patrick’s Day in the White House.
Micheál Martin will be happy enough with how the meeting with US President Donald Trump went. He’ll be even happier that it was Keir Starmer that was in the US president’s sights and not himself.
Coming out of the meeting with Trump relatively unscathed, for a second time, is probably the most Martin could hope for.
Back home, there was pressure on the Taoiseach to speak about Iran and peace in the Middle East, and in fairness, he did make that point.
Martin spoke about the need for a peaceful resolution in the Gulf crisis, referencing the Troubles and stating that Ireland knows what it is like to live in conflict.
He’s likely to come in for criticism in the next few days too, however, for referring to Trump also doing his “bit” for peace in the region.
The war in Iran – in particular, Tehran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz – has put the US president under intense pressure. Despite his appeals for help, none of America’s allies are happy to send ships to help – and have, instead, sent a clear message that the mess that Trump started is his to clear up.
The delay in allowing the US use of UK bases has resulted in a souring of the relationship between Keir Starmer and Trump in recent weeks.
The US president has repeated numerous times that the British prime minister is no Winston Churchill.
Pointing at a bust of the UK’s wartime leader, Trump repeated the remark again in the Oval Office.
In a turn-up for the books, Micheál Martin jumped in to defend Starmer, appearing not to want to be seen standing by while the British PM got a slagging.
Keir Starmer has done a lot to reset the Irish-British relationship. I just want to put that on the record. I do believe that he is a very earnest, sound person.
The Taoiseach might have been happy that he was escaping the wrath of Trump, as the US president only seemed to have kind words for Ireland in the Oval Office today.
While Trump didn’t seem to have much time for Starmer, he praised Martin as a good politician who was great at telling a story.
Martin faced some criticism last year for how he handled his meeting with Trump, though many commended him for not causing any diplomatic incident.
He was notably nervous last year meeting Trump for the first time, squirming in his seat as if there was a fire underneath him.
Those nerves didn’t appear to be present as much this year.
While last year, his body language appeared uneasy, this year, Martin was sitting back in his chair, looking relaxed.
While the Oval Office press conference ran to over 40 minutes, with the war in Iran dominating, other topics also featured, such as the protected snail that is holding up Trump’s Doonbeg development; Trump’s hopes to make it to Ireland for the Irish Open which is being held in his resort; immigration and fuel costs and (somewhat bizarrely) his disdain for windmills.
At first it appeared that Martin might not get a word in at all. He repeatedly leaned forward at times, attempting to interject, but wasn’t successful.
Moments he manage to intervene or jump into the conversation he sought to clarify some points or advise the president.
Martin said he believed that Trump “has the capacity” to get along with European leaders, despite current disagreements about how to clear the Strait of Hormuz.
He came to the defence of Europe at times, telling the president that Europe is a great place to live.
This was in response to Trump’s comments on immigration. When asked by reporters if he wanted to respond to comments made by the US president, Martin said that Ireland believes in “robust and fair” rules around immigration.
“In Ireland, our population is growing but in a very positive way,” he said.
“Our economy is going well because we’re attracting a lot of people from Europe and beyond in to work in our country.”
He added: “I think sometimes Europe gets characterised in terms of it being ‘overrun’.”
Martin had been responding to comments by Trump that “millions of people” who “shouldn’t be there” had come to the UK and Europe.
Times where Martin didn’t jump in to correct the president might bring him in for some criticism. When Trump misgendered Ireland’s President, Catherine Connolly, for instance – saying “he’s lucky I exist”.
Martin also failed to intervene when Trump was rambling on about his hatred for windmills, despite wind energy being a key priority for this government. The Taoiseach tried, but largely failed, to stifle a grin when Trump slammed the use of windmills for energy use.
In the Rayburn Room on Capitol Hill, where the Congressional Friends of Ireland luncheon took place, the US president once again spoke fondly about Ireland and its people.
Jumping on and off script in his typical fashion, he said that Ireland was there at the beginning of the United States, and help build the nation.
“These are incredible people. I know so many Irish, they’re difficult though, you know, they’re very difficult, and they’re great politicians.”
Trump also welcomed Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly at the event, telling the room that the DUP politician and Martin “get along so well”.
“I saw that you get along very well together. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. I don’t know if I should be promoting a merger. I love mergers,” he said, making an oblique reference to a united Ireland (we think) before saying he was going to “get in trouble” for such remarks. Little-Pengelly did not appear impressed.
It was on the Capitol also that Trump made some pointed comments towards Ireland’s trade deficit with the US, a sore point for the Taoiseach that he often tries to correct.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll soon reach a deal to let American liquefied natural gas, and that’ll bring down your deficits a lot. So I think you have to make this deal with us.”
With an uncomfortable grin on his face Martin nodded along, although he must know that it’s these comments that could spell trouble for him back home.
It was during the shamrock ceremony that the issue of trade was raised again by Trump.
But it was also something Martin brought up.
“The United States is the largest economy in the world. Ireland is small. We need free and open trade to make our way in the world, and we like to see as few barriers and tariffs get in the way of that,” said the Taoiseach, glancing back at Trump.
He also took the opportunity to speak about working towards peace, something he was called upon to do by many back home:
“Like other small countries, we see international rules of order, including the United Nations, as essential to our peace and security and to that of the world.
“Our own recent history has convinced us that dialogue, negotiation and de-escalation are the ways to make progress, and we especially want to see progress and peace in the Middle East, as I know you do,” said Martin.
“We also need a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine, too many people are dying as a result of conflict across the world, and we owe it to them all to create a better future.”
Earlier this week, Martin said he didn’t have a game plan for the meeting, but looking at the performance of the Taoiseach, there’s no doubt work was done behind the scenes, even if it was to loosen up his demeanour.
Others back home believe the Taoiseach didn’t go far enough and was perhaps too soft on some of his messaging.
Martin is flying out of Washington DC tomorrow morning on the new government jet. He is flying straight to Brussels for a meeting with EU leaders where the energy crisis is on the agenda.
The Taoiseach will be satisfied that he will get a good report card from his European colleagues.
Martin may also be expecting a favour from the UK prime minister after his defence today. That’s something Martin can hold in his back pocket for another day, when Ireland needs it most.
At the very least, Starmer owes him a pint.
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