Ireland is preparing for a two-day visit by US President Donald Trump, beginning Saturday, that combines sporting leisure with high-stakes diplomacy — and no small measure of public anxiety. Trump is due to fly into Dublin on Saturday morning, hold official meetings at Áras an Uachtaráin, the Irish president's official residence in Phoenix Park, and then travel west to Doonbeg, County Clare, where his own golf resort is hosting the Irish Open, one of Europe's premier golf tournaments. The visit, billed as largely sporting in nature, carries a security price tag of more than €20 million and will involve some 4,000 personnel.
The most closely watched moment of the trip will be Trump's courtesy call on Ireland's new president, Catherine Connolly, a former independent left-wing member of parliament for Galway who won the ceremonial presidency last year. Connolly has been openly critical of Trump for years — she protested his 2019 visit to Ireland and has since spoken out against his positions on Gaza, Iran and what she called "the normalisation of war." Trump, for his part, appeared unaware she existed: when asked about her criticism in March, he replied, "He's lucky I exist" — apparently unaware that Connolly is a woman. The Irish government confirmed the meeting only last week, and officials have made little secret of their nerves. "We need to get him in the Áras, then out of the Áras. We'll breathe easier after," one senior official said.
The Irish government, led by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who will also hold a separate meeting with Trump, faces a delicate balancing act. On one side is a domestic audience, including large planned protests in central Dublin expected to draw tens of thousands, that wants a strong stand against Trump's foreign policy and rhetoric on immigration and the Middle East. On the other is an economic reality that is hard to ignore: the United States is the source of massive investment in Ireland through multinational technology and pharmaceutical companies, and any diplomatic rupture could have serious consequences for Irish state finances. Trump has also signalled a desire to see American firms repatriate jobs and tax revenue from Ireland to the US — a scenario that Irish policymakers are watching with alarm.
Despite the fraught backdrop, analysts and former diplomats expect Connolly to navigate the encounter carefully. As a candidate, she pledged to respect the constraints of her largely ceremonial office and said she would meet Trump if protocol required it — but not to "berate him." Former Irish ambassador Bobby McDonagh suggested she might follow the example set by Martin during a White House visit, where the taoiseach discreetly pushed back on some of Trump's views without provoking a public confrontation. Meanwhile, six-time major champion Rory McIlroy, competing in Doonbeg, captured the mood of many when he said: "It's going to be different with him being here, but we're here to play a golf tournament."
This is not Trump's first trip to Ireland. During his first term, in June 2019, he spent several nights at the Doonbeg resort and played golf there, while protesters outside deployed the now-famous giant baby Trump balloon. Security arrangements this time will be even more extensive, with Trump's movements tightly controlled throughout — much as they were during his visit to the United Kingdom last year, when he remained largely within the grounds of Windsor Castle. All eyes will be on whether this weekend's encounter between a combative American president and an equally outspoken Irish head of state produces sparks — or an awkward but uneventful handshake.