Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
THERE HAVE BEEN calls for Taoiseach Enda Kenny to cancel his upcoming visit to the White House to mark St Patrick’s Day.
The issue has been raised on numerous occasions since Donald Trump was elected US President, but gained momentum this weekend following Trump’s attempt to stop refugees entering the US.
Today, the Greens called on Kenny to postpone the visit. Party leader Eamon Ryan said: “We have to stand up for what is right. The banning of refugees, the support for torture and the bullying of the Mexican government is simply intolerable.
We respect the US political system and value our historic connections but we cannot in all honesty hand over that bowl of shamrock in these circumstances.
“It is time for our Taoiseach to represent our country and what we stand for in the world. We should do so in a civil and diplomatic manner but proceeding as if everything is normal is not an option.”
Meanwhile, Labour leader Brendan Howlin said: ”For decades, Irish governments have been able to enjoy significant access to senior US politicians in the days around St Patrick’s Day. This has allowed us to raise issues that matter to Ireland, and to Irish people in the US.
That access is valuable, but it is not the only thing of value. Ireland is an open and tolerant nation. We believe that those who are experiencing violence and oppression in their home nations should be welcomed to nations that can provide them with safety and security and opportunity.
A spokesperson from the Taoiseach’s Department told TheJournal.ie: ”In order to maintain the historically strong links between the Irish and American peoples it is important that the Taoiseach continues to engage with the US President and his administration in Washington around the events of St Patrick’s Day.
Doing so allows the Taoiseach to outline, in person, his government’s views on a range of issues, including business and economic ties, immigration and other matters of common interest. He will continue to act in the interests of Irish people and to that end he will raise these matters again this year.
However, Howlin added: “President Trump does not share our values. Indeed, he is openly hostile to them. He and his team have made clear that he is unwilling to hear, or even listen to discordant voices. In that context, the only thing a visit by the Taoiseach to the White House could achieve would be to present Ireland as a supine supporter of Trumpism.
Such a presentation would be humiliating to the vast majority of Irish people who stand opposed to the policies being implemented by President Trump.
“Put plainly, if the Muslim ban remains in place, Enda Kenny should not be boarding a plane to Washington in March. And our government should be working might and mane to make sure that these policies are not enforced on Irish soil.”
Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics, Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar said it’s important for Ireland to “engage with the new administration”.
However, given the current political environment, he said the annual tradition “can’t just be smiles and shamrocks”.
Advertisement
At the time of publication, over 24,000 people had signed a petition calling on Kenny to cancel the visit. It is one of a number of online petitions on the issue.
Refugee ban
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order barring all refugees from entering the US for three months. Those from war-ravaged Syria were set to be banned from entering the country indefinitely.
Trump said the ban was necessary to prevent “radical Islamic terrorists” from entering the nation. The ban affects people from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
It led to people en route to the US being detained at airports, sparking several protests. Last night, a federal judge issued an emergency order temporarily barring the US from deporting people, saying travellers who had been detained had a strong argument their legal rights had been violated.
Some people are still being detained, with a lack of clarity about what will happen next.
Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan issued a statement about the issue today, saying: “While US immigration policy is a matter for the US authorities, it is clear that the most recent decisions could have far-reaching implications – both on humanitarian grounds and on relations between the US and the global Muslim community.
“Accordingly, I share the concerns of other EU partners regarding this most recent development.
Many people are feeling great concern about these changes including some Irish citizens in the United States. Our embassy in Washington and consulates remain in active and ongoing contact with Irish immigration centres throughout the US. I am conscious that matters are still evolving and that the US courts are now involved. We will continue to monitor developments in this area very closely.
“Ireland has a vibrant multinational community which contribute a great deal to our country.”
Speaking about Trump’s executive order, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said: “This arbitrary ban and the refusal to offer sanctuary to refugees runs counter to international obligations, equality and decency. Generations of Irish fled starvation, poverty and conflict to make a new life and contribute to building America.
I congratulate the protesters at the airports last night and welcome the temporary stay on this unjust policy. I believe that the Irish government should not allow Irish airports to enforce this fundamentally unjust order.
In a statement from Anti-Austerity Alliance, Ruth Coppinger said: “Donald Trump’s executive order barring travel for those from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Syria is an openly racist act. It is targeted at Muslims predominantly, who have been consistently scapegoated and targeted by Trump.
It is heartening to see the scenes of thousands of people protest at airports at America, demanding that people are allowed in and in opposition to these policies. Last summer, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said Trump was racist and dangerous. This executive order now means the government has to decide which side it’s on.
“Will it show solidarity with Muslims who are the targets of this immigration policy or will it turn a blind eye and allow US pre-clearance to carry out racist discrimination in our airports?”
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Oscars 2025: All the night's winners as Anora dominates with five awards, including Best Picture
Updated
2 hrs ago
12.0k
7
no other land
'There is another way': Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers win Oscar for West Bank documentary
4 hrs ago
2.1k
Tralee
Woman (40s) dies after being struck by SUV in Tralee this morning
17 hrs ago
31.4k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 153 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 105 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 137 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 106 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 79 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 78 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 38 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 34 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 127 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 60 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 75 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 82 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 39 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 43 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 25 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 87 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 97 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 69 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 51 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 85 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 65 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say