TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN will not be travelling to the White House for St Patrick’s Day celebrations, it has been confirmed. 

The occasion will instead be marked remotely, with an in-person meeting with President Joe Biden not possible due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Irish and US officials are currently working out how best to mark the day, a spokesperson for the Taoiseach said. 

“These arrangements will take full account of the challenges of Covid and we expect that on this occasion the tradition will be upheld via a programme of virtual events.”

There had been no specific invite for Martin to travel to the White House this year but an “annual standing invitation” has existed each year since 1956.  

Martin previously stated that “the virus will dictate” whether a trip to Washington DC was possible. The chances of the trip happening had decreased after the White House confirmed that it has not been holding public events due to coronavirus concerns. 

Martin had said he was “amused” by the debate around whether would head Stateside, saying that he would travel if there was an invitation but that nothing had been decided. 

Sinn Féin are among those who had said that he should not travel to the United States. 

- With reporting from Adam Daly