Trump arrives in Ireland to meet leaders before attending golf tournament

DUBLIN: US President Donald Trump arrived in Dublin on Saturday (Sep 12), where he will meet Ireland's leaders before attending a golf tournament at one of his resorts, a detour from his recent focus on the Iran war and his party's effort to maintain power in November's midterm elections. 

The meetings with Ireland's president and prime minister are not part of an official state visit. But coming after this week's Republican convention and the 25th anniversary of the Sep 11 attacks, the talks could include politically sensitive topics such as economic issues and Irish leaders' concerns over the Iran war. 

Trump is making his 48-hour foreign trip as his Republican Party campaigns to keep its majorities in both chambers of the US Congress. The Iran conflict has heightened economic concerns among American voters by raising gas prices nationwide.

He was greeted by Ireland's deputy prime minister and foreign minister on the tarmac at Dublin Airport.

Anti-war and anti-Trump protests are planned in Dublin and in western Ireland near the Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg. 

Ireland is one of the European Union's most pro-Palestinian countries and passed a law in July curbing goods trade with settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. US lawmakers and the American ambassador to Ireland criticised the law.

US, IRELAND TIES

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin has so far avoided political flaps with the US.

"The relationship between Ireland and the United States is very important economically," Martin told reporters when asked about Trump's weekend trip. "It's very, very significant both ways."

US-owned companies employ about 10 per cent of workers in Ireland after successive governments prioritised their jobs and corporate tax revenue over decades, handing Ireland the healthiest public finances in Europe in recent years. 

In Dublin on Saturday, Trump will meet Irish President Catherine Connolly, who was elected head of state last year. When Trump last visited as president in 2019, Connolly, an outspoken politician with far-left views on foreign policy, protested outside Shannon Airport in western Ireland.

Some supporters have urged her to speak up against US military actions around the world and defend Ireland's neutrality.

Including Trump, eight sitting US presidents have visited Ireland, starting with John F Kennedy in 1963. But this trip has some hallmarks of Trump's typical weekends, which often revolve around golf outings at his company's properties.  

The Trump Organization took control in 2014 of the Doonbeg course, which is hosting the Irish Open golf tournament this weekend. Trump is expected to help present the trophy on Sunday to the tournament champion.