Trump Arrives in Dublin for Talks With Connolly and Martin Ahead of Irish Open
US President Donald Trump was welcomed to Dublin by President Catherine Connolly, with talks planned with Taoiseach Micheál Martin before he attends the Irish Open at his Doonbeg course.
US President Donald Trump arrived in Dublin on Saturday, where President of Ireland Catherine Connolly greeted him at Áras an Uachtaráin in Phoenix Park.
Trump is scheduled to hold separate meetings with Connolly and Taoiseach Micheál Martin during his stay in the capital. He also plans to address American and Irish business leaders at the US ambassador's official residence before travelling to the west coast.
The visit combines official engagements with a personal interest: Trump owns an oceanfront golf club at Doonbeg in County Clare, where he intends to watch the Irish Open. It is the second European Tour event staged at a Trump property this year, following the Nexo Championship at his Aberdeen course in Scotland last month.
Security arrangements include a cordon around Phoenix Park, a 1,750-acre (700-hectare) site that contains both Áras an Uachtaráin and Farmleigh, the government's state guesthouse where Trump will meet Martin.
Ahead of the arrival, Martin said he looked forward to discussing issues of mutual interest and to reaffirming the strong economic, cultural and people-to-people ties between Ireland and the United States. He extended the invitation when the two met at the White House on St Patrick's Day this year.
The trip follows Trump's overnight flight from the United States after he attended the 25th anniversary commemoration of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He spent the two preceding nights delivering speeches at a political rally in Dallas.
Separately, a coalition of left-leaning opposition parties, anti-military groups, pro-Palestinian organisations, environmentalists and others planned to demonstrate against Trump in Dublin on Saturday.
Irish political leaders are expected to use the visit to sustain warm transatlantic relations despite differences over trade and foreign policy, matters the White House said Trump wants to discuss. Martin also expressed hope that an Irish player would lift the trophy on Sunday, with Shane Lowry leading at the tournament's halfway point.