Trump’s Ireland visit puts diplomacy and private golf interests side by side
Donald Trump is due to meet Ireland’s president and taoiseach before attending a golf tournament at his Doonbeg resort, with protests planned and about 4,000 personnel deployed.
US President Donald Trump has arrived in Ireland for a two-day visit combining talks with Irish leaders and attendance at the Irish Open golf tournament at his resort in Doonbeg.
Trump landed at Dublin Airport shortly before 8.25am local time on Saturday, according to AFP reporters cited by France 24. He is due to meet President Catherine Connolly and Taoiseach Micheál Martin before travelling to the west coast, where the tournament is expected to draw about 40,000 spectators.
About 4,000 police and other personnel, including snipers, have been mobilised for the visit. Thousands of protesters were planning rallies in Dublin, while the reported cost of the operation was €20 million, a figure not independently established in the supplied material.
The meetings are likely to cover the Middle East, US tariffs on EU pharmaceuticals and immigration. Connolly, who holds a largely ceremonial role and has criticised Trump, is under pressure from supporters to raise Gaza. It remains unclear whether that issue will be discussed.
Trump may present the tournament trophy on Sunday, although that has not been confirmed. The event is being held at the Trump Organization’s Doonbeg resort, which it acquired in 2014.
The visit has renewed debate over the overlap between Trump’s presidential responsibilities and his family’s commercial interests. Daniel Geary of Trinity College Dublin and Richard Painter of the University of Minnesota separately criticised that overlap, while Dublin City University political scientist Eoin O’Malley described the expected meeting with Martin as likely to be courteous and the encounter with Connolly as the main uncertainty.
