Irish Examiner view: Oval Office visit is Ireland’s chance to build bridges
Taoiseach Micheál Martin speaking to the media at the JW Marriott Hotel in Austin, Texas, during his US trip ahead of St Patrick's Day. On Wednesday he will visit president Donald Trump at the Oval Office in the White House. Niall Carson/PA
The one thing Taoiseach Micheál Martin has not been short of ahead of his visit to Donald Trump in the White House on Wednesday, is advice. Advice on how to behave, how to comport himself, how to stiffen his back if faced with any broadsides, and how to make sure he looks the US president in the eye.
Experts from many fields of endeavour, many of which have little to do with the complex world of international geopolitics, global economies, or even simple diplomacy, have all voiced their tuppence worth.
The truth is, though, that the Irish invasion of America this week, with multiple Government ministers, industry and tourism leaders, and other gilded shamrockers, is about much more than simply avoiding any shouting or embarrassment in the Oval Office.
The Irish raiding parties hope to cover a lot more ground than will be achieved by a forelock-tugging exercise in Washington. One notable subtext is the attempt to rebuild diplomatic relations with Israel via the powerful Jewish community in America.
Mr Martin and his colleagues know only too well the influence US Jewry brings to bear on domestic Israeli politics and, in an attempt to repair some of the soured diplomatic ties between Ireland and Israel, he will discuss with them the rise of global antisemitism and actions taken here to combat it.
Few doubt that the current Israeli administration singled out Ireland in the wake of its considered and morally sound stance in supporting an action in the International Court of Justice against the Tel Aviv government accusing it of genocide in Gaza.
Other countries that held the same views as Ireland did, and who supported the same actions, were not given the same diplomatic treatment we received.
From the foreign minister, Gideon Saar, accusing then taoiseach Simon Harris of antisemitism, to the ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, stating there was “an anti-Israeli obsession” in Ireland, the criticism has been persistent.
It is important for both sides to try and rebuild diplomatic walls. This week is as good an opportunity as any.
The US administration has set a full day aside tomorrow, Wednesday, to meet with the Irish contingent — at a time when it is grappling with brokering peace in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as potentially crippling trade wars — so the picture for the meeting in the White House is far from being as fraught as many suggest.
Ireland’s ability to get other, very important, work done this week may mean more in the long term.
As the former governor of both the central bank of Canada and the Bank of England, the man who will become the next prime minister in Ottawa has a track record of crisis management. He will need it.
Mark Carney will have to draw on his experience to lead his country through the crisis foisted on it as a result of the tariffs placed on Canadian goods being exported to the US by Donald Trump.
It is not simply the economic and trade crisis inflamed by Trump that Carney will have to deal with, it is the existential threat to the very fabric of Canadian nationhood posed by the US president’s assertion that the country will become America’s 51st state.
As the successor to Justin Trudeau as his country’s prime minister, Carney has ridden a wave of patriotic fervour into office, but merely tapping into the swell of native belligerence and obstreperousness that have met Trump’s outrageousness might not be enough for the career banker.
Carney is a smart guy, obviously, but lacks political experience. His business smarts will get him so far in dealing with Trump and his minions, but he is also going to have to display a mastery of those dark political arts which can actually stop the threats and challenges emanating from across the border.
Carney will have to distil his people’s inner tenacity and doggedness in what could well turn out to be political trench warfare against Washington.
It is to be hoped he will and, in doing so, be fearless in standing on the toes of the tough guy with the brittle innards.
It took just 36 minutes in Apeldoorn on Sunday for the Irish to make their mark on the European Indoor Athletics Championships, with gold for Sarah Healy and a bronze each for Mark English and Kate O’Connor.
The Irish will have four whole days to make a significant impact on a different sporting arena this week the challenges at Cheltenham but will be no less testing.
Historically, recent runnings of the annual extravaganza in the Cotswolds have been particularly kind to the Irish. Our domination of this era at the festival has pained our kindred British horseracing brethren greatly, not least because the Irish no longer need to sell to wealthy Britons who claim Irish-bred equine superstars as their own.
But there will be deeper Irish emotions in evidence at Prestbury Park this year. The opening race has been fittingly renamed the Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices Hurdle in honour of the 24-year-old Cork jockey who died as a result of a cataclysmic fall at Thurles recently and who rode Marine Nationale to win it just two years ago.
The favourite, Kopek Des Bordes, is trained by Willie Mullins but is owned by Corkman Charlie McCarthy and if he were to win today, there will hardly be a dry eye in the house.
Mullins too will train the Gold Cup favourite Galopin Des Champs on Friday, as the horse aims to secure a third successive victory in the race and join legends such as Golden Miller, Cottage Rake, Arkle, and Best Mate in doing so.
Punters will undoubtedly try to outfox the bookies during the meeting but, as ever, there’s more at stake than just cash.
