Political Correspondent Christina Finn reporting from Washington DC

TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN will meet with US President Joe Biden this evening at the Irish Funds fundraising gala in Washington DC. 

The Taoiseach is in the United States this week to attend a number of St Patrick’s Day events. 

He is due to meet the US president again tomorrow in the White House and at a traditional ceremony to hand Biden a bowl of shamrock.

Biden is expected to address the reception this evening, where the Taoiseach will receive the International Leadership Award at the event.

Speaking ahead of his meeting with Biden this week, the Taoiseach said he was looking forward to meeting the US president, noting that it will be a “very pleasant” meeting between “one Irishman and another Irishman”.

Ukraine will be the dominant issue of discussion between the two leaders, the Taoiseach said yesterday. 

“I think it will be important, the reaffirming and working through the relationship between the European Union and United States and how well that has worked in the context of this crisis,” Martin said.

“The president has been very strong in terms of the need for that multilateral system, in terms of the need for the restoration of the strong alliances.

“To be fair to the American government, they’ve called this right all along, in terms of their intelligence, sharing their intelligence in public, which in my view was impactful enough, and also working with EU countries in terms of sanctions.” 

The Taoiseach also confirmed that he will raise the issue of undocumented Irish living in the US, including how Ireland can continue to work existing channels of legal migration with the US, as well as developing “newer mechanisms that facilitate a two way exchange between our two countries that are legal exchanges of people”.

“We also want to discuss the economic relationship between Ireland and the United States, which is a powerful relationship, not just in terms of the American multinationals that are present in Ireland, but also the number of Irish companies that are located in America, creating thousands and thousands of jobs in America,” Martin said. 

Collison brothers

Today, Martin is also due to present Science Foundation Ireland’s St Patrick’s Day Science Medal awards at the US Chamber meeting. 

Stripe founders John and Patrick Collison, who are originally from Co Tipperary, are due to attend the ceremony. The brothers launched Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform, back in 2011.

Dual-headquartered in Dublin and San Francisco, the company employs just over 7,000 people globally, with just over 500 people based in its Dublin office.

Patrick and John Collison are due to attend the St. Patrick's Day Science Medal ceremony in Washington DC today.

Millions of companies now use Stripe to process hundreds of billions of dollars of payments every year.

After chairing yesterday’s Cabinet meeting from the Irish Embassy in Washington DC, the Taoiseach unveiled a bust of the late John Hume at the ambassador’s residence.

At the unveiling, Martin said: “John’s work is as vital as ever, perhaps, above all, it teaches us the importance of patience and persistence in the search for political agreement.”

He said that the Good Friday Agreement would not have been possible without Hume.

At the event, he also confirmed that he had met with the Ukrainian Ambassador to the US, Oksana Makarova.

“We think very deeply about the plight that your people are under at the moment because of the barbaric and immoral war waged upon your people by the Russian Federation,” he said.

By any measure John Hume was a great Irishman who devoted his life to his community, country, peace and reconciliation.

That’s why it’s a great honour to unveil this magnificent sculpture, a mark of respect from a grateful country and fitting reminder of his extraordinary work. pic.twitter.com/2ztf4kQZ44

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 15, 2022

Martin also attended a Tourism Ireland gala event, before attending the opening night of the 25^th anniversary show of Riverdance.

The Journal’s Political Correspondent Christina Finn will be bringing you all the latest updates from Micheál Martin’s visit to Washington DC this week, including his meeting with US President Joe Biden on Thursday.

Stay up-to-date by following @christinafinn8, @TJ_Politics  and TheJournal.ie’s Facebook page.