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IRISH INTEREST IN the traditional Washington St Patrick’s Day celebrations has surged this year, in the wake of Trump’s shock win last November.
Almost as soon as the controversial businessman clinched victory, attention turned to the annual White House visit – with some arguing Enda Kenny should decline the invitation this year.
The Taoiseach was asked repeatedly in the run up to the visit whether he intended to raise subjects like the travel ban affecting Muslim-majority countries like Sudan and Yemen.
There was also speculation over whether Kenny’s comments last year that Trump had used “racist and dangerous” language on the campaign would come up, when the two men met.
Those remarks, made in the Dáil last May, were put under a renewed focus this week when former UKIP leader Nigel Farage said the Taoiseach should apologise to Trump. As a result, Kenny was asked to respond to Farage’s remarks during a US media op.
That angle, and Kenny’s lobbying effort on behalf of the Irish undocumented, made the news in the US in the last 24 hours.
Here’s how all the White House and Washington events were covered by American media outlets – starting with the New York Times:
The paper’s Mark Landler wrote that Trump ”found himself in a roomful of kelly-green-clad lawmakers in the Capitol for the Friends of Ireland luncheon, being lectured by Enda Kenny, the Irish prime minister, or taoiseach (pronounced THEE-shakh), about the virtues of America’s immigrant legacy and the contributions that immigrants had made to the country.”
He added:
“There are millions out there who want to play their part for America — if you like, who want to make America great,” he said, shooting Mr. Trump a pointed gaze as he appropriated the president’s campaign slogan. “You heard that before?” he said, to nervous titters.
Trump’s now almost infamous recitation of his beloved Irish ‘proverb’ also merited a mention from America’s paper of record:
For his part, Mr. Trump tried to keep things light. But in welcoming Mr. Kenny, he cited what he said was an Irish proverb that speaks to the fickleness of human relations. (The provenance of the phrase quickly came into dispute, with some on social media pointing out its similarity to a stanza in a poem by a Nigerian poet, Albashir Adam Alhassan.)
The New York Times also carried an op-ed from Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole (published in advance of the White House visit yesterday) in which he wrote that Kenny needed to stand up for all US immigrants, not just the Irish.
‘Musician boycott’
Kenny made the front page of the Wall Street Journal, while the Washington Post included a photo of Trump speaking in front of Irish and American flags on its front page, mentioning Kenny and his visit in the caption.
Inside the paper, there was coverage of three Irish musicians who boycotted the traditional celebration of Irish-US relations.
According to journalist Mary Jordan:
Three leading Irish musicians said they turned down offers to perform at the White House St. Patrick’s Day celebration Thursday because they are opposed to President Trump’s stance on immigration and his proposed budget cuts to arts programs.
“I just can’t bring myself to do it,” said Billy McComiskey, who was born in the United States after his father immigrated to New York from Northern Ireland. “My father would be disgusted with me if I supported this administration in any way.”
Instead of playing the Irish accordion for Trump, McComiskey — and two other acclaimed musicians, Laura Byrne and Donna Long — entertained students at Howard Community College in Maryland.
The paper’s online edition made mention of Irish reaction to the annual plámás-fest – including the Twitter reaction to Mike Pence’s use of the phrase “top of the morning”, and to Trump’s ‘proverb’.
Elsewhere, CNN ran a wider piece looking at the situation of the Irish undocumented in America:
They’re spared the glances. The “go back to your country” slurs facing so many undocumented migrants in the US. But they live in fear. They don’t call the police when there’s a break in. They think twice before they bring a sick child to the emergency room. Only, they’re white – and they’re Irish.
Fox News carried an article from the Associated Press on its website with the headline: ‘Ireland’s leader pushes Trump on illegal Irish immigrants’
The first four paragraphs:
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny is urging President Donald Trump to help Irish people living in the U.S. illegally, saying they just want to “make America great.”
Kenny spoke at a luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday as part of a series of events celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, including a one-on-one meeting with Trump at the White House. Kenny told reporters after the morning meeting that he and Trump discussed immigration, trade and the Irish economy.
Trump welcomed Kenny to the White House, proclaiming his love for Ireland. At the luncheon, he called Kenny a “new friend” and quoted an Irish proverb to remember friends that “have stuck by you.” Trump added: “politically speaking, a lot of us know that.”
Kenny said that during the meeting, he sought to impress upon Trump the difficulties Ireland will face as a result of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. Trump supported the British vote to leave the 28-country bloc, saying earlier this year that leaving would “end up being a great thing.”
On balance, Kenny’s message about the position of the Irish in America got a much more positive response from liberal-leaning US outlets like the NYT and non-Irish outlets like Channel 4 News than it did in our own media.
Taoisigh regularly raise the issue of the Irish undocumented on White House visits. This year, however, it’s a subject that could hardly be more apposite:
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Three leading Irish musicians said they turned down offers to perform at the White House St. Patrick’s Day.
Billy McComiskey, Laura Byrne and Donna Long.
Legends in their own kitchens the three of them.
Another long winded sermon from Fintan ‘Pontificus’ O’Toole.
NYT=FAKE NEWS
@Dilly Dong: Enda…pronounced “ass hole”…
Not a fan of Enda (to put it mildly), but I think he played a blinder in the minefield of Trump’s Washington… and just may have done the Irish undocumented some service. Good job but it should be noted that people who say that Ireland holds no sway on international affairs are badly mistaken. The Taoiseach does have his bully pit and it should used more often to speak out on human rights issues more often.
@Louis Jacob: Irish people aren’t undocumented, they’re illegal.
@Louis Jacob: I detest Enda Kenny, to put it mildly, and I see no evidence of him ‘playing a blinder’ against Trump, in fact I suspect you have been blinded by a certain gloss meant to diminish Trump and happy to big up Kenny to do it. And that itself displays an ignorance of Irish politics, understandably, given our actual, very minor international role and the complete absence of any bully platform, for any taoiseach!
@Alan Brogan: Really? Is this the point you need to make?
@Michael Bride: Nonsense. Trump himself made a point of mentioning our peace keeping record. As far as human rights issues go, I would suggest that as an English speaking country, our leaders have a very loud voice.
@Louis Jacob: use of language is very important- white people cant be undocumented and brown illegal. Language and how it is used is how Trump and others spread their hate.
@Alan Brogan: I agree. But I would suggest that if we are talking semantics, they (and the brown people) would be classed as both.
@Michael Bride: The papers in the US seem to disagree with you.
@Louis Jacob: Louis, good fecking God, I can’t believe for one second you believe any of this nonsense. He did as he was told while he is over there and then asked beforehand permission off Trump to say a couple of things. Blind I say, blind…..
Have you actually listened to his speech, l cant stand the man but that was possibly the best speech of his career,
Undocumented is the official term knucklehead. Undocumented means illegal .
In the grander scheme of things Enda Kenny is of little significance to Donald Trump, I hope President Trump makes a visit to the Emerald Isle real soon if for nothing else than to upset Leo and the others, happy St Patrick’s day one and all wherever you are, be safe and enjoy!…..
Did Trump have a full Irish for his breakfast this morning ? Seriously why so many Trump stories ?
Donald’s a popular guy and his soundbytes are always accompanied by the sound of KerChing!
Good speech from Kenny.
Well done kennys handlers for prepping him on the handshake timing,now hopefully he’ll fck off and retire to a German retirement home for the bewildered.
Has any newspaper printed the full text of the TEE-shack’s ‘lecture’ in the White House? Are there any rumours that Dr. Kenny is in line to be the next Provost of Trinity College? (as soon as he resigns as leader of FG, of course)
Lectured me AR/$, what about the reports of his absolute boredom with yesterday’s nonsense. Today is st. Patrick’s day, has anyone wondered why our Enda is not meeting Trump today? It’s called being irrelevant, Germany’s Prime Minister was pencilled in today, heavens above Trump would inconvenience Merkel, after all she appears to be the only European leader with BALLS.
Any chance Trump would keep Kenny over there?
Now if you knew how to find it and spoke to the right people and asked nicely, you may hear how the Taoiseach actually called Trump “President Bush” at one stage, which Trump ingored..
It seems President Trump gets a lot of bad press in Ireland, and that is sad. America loves Ireland. Let me just say this, as an American from NY: unless you come into this country and become associated with vicious gang violence, rape culture, beheadings, child brides, treating women like second-class citizens, plowing your car into crowds of innocent people, blowing up marathons, subway stations, government buildings & planes, shooting up gay night clubs and office Christmas parties and other sorts of anti-western mayhem & destruction, then you’re not the kind of immigrant Americans are worried about…not even close.
@AMckenny: AND FYI: As far as press coverage of Kenny’s visit: It was very positive. Although hack organizations such as the NYT, TWJ, TWP & CNN ,NBC etc would like to spin it differently (like any other thing the president says or does). In other words, complete bullshit. It seems Europe is being fed only negatives about this administration.
@AMckenny: eh, that’s not at all what Trump’s plan for immigrants is. I think the M word he’s out to get is Mexicans
Enda rolled over and let Trump scratch his belly after swapping a bowl of weeds for another 12 months suckling ‘Murica’s’ financial tit.
I pretty much loathe Kenny, but in this one circumstance, I think you’re mistaken.
Well Kenny just jeopardised the St Patricks Day ritual between Ireland and the US, who invites a guest to their nation only for the snake to turn around and stab the gracious host in the back. Idiot.
Anybody who can read body language may say otherwise.
Enda was entitled to speak up of Irish people in the US, I had no problem with that, it was his support for the corrupt EU I hated.
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