Trump backs united Ireland during Dublin visit linked to Doonbeg golf trip

Donald Trump said in Dublin that he would like to see Ireland unified during his weekend visit. The remark reopened a deeply sensitive issue as protests, criticism and golf plans dominated the trip.

In Short

• He met Micheál Martin and Catherine Connolly amid heavy security in Dublin
• Police cordons and planned demonstrations disrupted parts of the capital city
• Irish unity remains contentious despite the 1998 peace accord easing violence

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that a unified Ireland would be "fantastic", stepping into one of the island's most politically sensitive issues during a weekend visit linked to the Irish Open at his golf course in Doonbeg.

During talks in Dublin with Irish Prime Minister Michel Martin, Trump said he would like to see the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland come together. He also met Irish President Catherine Connolly, faced criticism and planned protests over his visit, and was due to travel across the country to watch the golf tournament at his resort.

"I don't want to cause any problems but I'd love to see it unified," Trump said. "It's going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now. I think it would be a fantastic thing," he said, adding that "the UK will have something to say about it, obviously."

The question of Irish unity has long been deeply contested. Rival views over whether Northern Ireland is Irish or British drove decades of violence that killed about 3,600 people. When Ireland became a self-governing Roman Catholic-majority country a century ago, six counties in the north with a Protestant majority remained part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland was then divided between nationalists, mostly Catholic and in favour of union with the rest of Ireland, and largely Protestant unionists, who wanted to remain British. The tensions later erupted into the Troubles, three decades of violence involving paramilitary groups on both sides and British troops. A 1998 peace accord, in which the US played a major role, largely ended the violence but did not settle Northern Ireland's final status.

Trump also held talks in Dublin with Connolly and was due to address US and Irish business leaders at the US ambassador's official residence before travelling to his oceanfront golf club in Doonbeg. Connolly, a left-wing politician, had joined protests during Trump's 2019 visit to Ireland in his first term. A supporter of the Palestinian cause, she has previously criticised US policy in the Middle East and called Trump a "bully". She met him at the end of a red carpet at her official residence, where they shook hands and spoke briefly before going inside. Trump later emerged alone, saluted as an Irish Defence Forces band played the US national anthem, and inspected an Irish Army honour guard. Connolly then joined him outdoors to introduce the US and Irish delegations before closed-door talks began.

His visit also led to disruption in Dublin. Police set up a cordon around Phoenix Park, where Connolly's residence, ras an Uachtarin, is located. Trump was also scheduled to meet Martin, the taoiseach, at the government's Farmleigh state guesthouse and stop at Deerfield, the US ambassador's residence. Some residents voiced anger over the arrangements. Taxi driver Christopher Fox said, "He's causing mayhem in this city because he wants to go down to Doonbeg and play golf. The world's in turmoil and this fella's down playing golf." University student Mina Petrovski said Trump's "attitudes toward women, toward immigrants, toward minority communities in general are abhorrent" and added that it was "shameful that the Irish government is welcoming him with open arms." A group of left-leaning opposition parties, anti-military groups, pro-Palestinian organisations and environmentalists also planned a demonstration in Dublin.

Separately, Trump's son Eric defended the family's standing in Ireland. Speaking to Irish broadcaster RTE in Doonbeg on Friday, he said the resort was the area's largest employer. "Go down to Morrissey's tavern in Doonbeg and hear from a real Irish person as to whether or not they like President Trump and the Trump family, go have them attest to what we've done for the country and what we've invested in the country and the love and respect that our family has always shown them," he said.

Trump arrived in Ireland overnight after marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. In the days before Friday's commemoration, the Republican president had delivered lengthy speeches at a political rally in Dallas.

Trump plays golf almost every weekend at clubs he owns in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia, and his appearance at the Irish Open continues his run of attending major sporting events at venues linked to his family business. His clubs in Doral, Florida, and Bedminster, New Jersey, have already hosted professional tournaments this year. The Irish Open is the second European Tour event to be staged at a Trump property this year after last month's Nexo Championship at his course in Aberdeen, Scotland. Last year, he spent five days in Scotland playing golf at his club in Turnberry and later inaugurated a new Trump course in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, during a trip that also included talks with the British prime minister and the president of the European Commission.

In all, Trump's Ireland visit combined politically sensitive remarks on Irish unity, official meetings in Dublin, criticism and protests on the streets, and a trip centred on golf at his Doonbeg resort.

With PTI Inputs

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