Trump Arrives in Ireland Saturday for Golf, Diplomacy and a 69% Disapproval Rating

Donald Trump is scheduled to touch down at Dublin Airport Saturday morning for a two-day visit to Ireland, his first since 2019, according to the BBC. The trip mixes state diplomacy with something closer to a hobby: watching the Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, County Clare, a course he owns.

On the diplomatic side, Trump will hold a courtesy call with Irish President Catherine Connolly and a separate bilateral meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin, per the BBC and The Independent. He'll also attend events at the residence of US Ambassador to Ireland Ed Walsh in Dublin's Phoenix Park before heading west to Doonbeg, where his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are expected to join him.

A president who has called him a bully

Connolly is not a neutral host. Before winning Ireland's largely ceremonial presidency last year, she was an independent left-wing lawmaker who protested Trump's 2019 visit and has since criticized his positions on tariffs, Gaza and Iran, according to The Guardian. She has said Ireland must "use our voice to speak to power and the abuse of power by president Trump." Asked about her criticism in March, Trump replied, "He's lucky I exist" — apparently unaware Connolly is a woman, The Guardian reported.

An Irish government official told The Guardian the plan for Saturday is simple: "We need to get him in the Áras, then out of the Áras. We'll breathe easier after." Martin, for his part, said he has no concerns "at all" about the meeting and issued a statement Friday saying he looks forward to "discussing the many issues of mutual interest and reaffirming the strong economic, cultural and people-to-people ties between Ireland and the United States."

The security operation and the protests

Irish police, An Garda Síochána, have mounted what The Independent and Al Jazeera both describe as one of the largest security operations in the state's history. Al Jazeera reported roughly 4,000 security personnel will be deployed, including about 1,000 US Secret Service agents. Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said water cannon will be "on standby" though he hopes they won't be needed, and warned there will be "no tolerance" for disorder or attempts to disrupt the president's movements.

A coalition called the Irish Neutrality League, made up of left-leaning opposition parties and groups including the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, is organizing a "No Welcome for Trump" march starting at 1 p.m. Saturday at Dublin's Garden of Remembrance, heading down O'Connell Street toward the Dáil. People Before Profit's Richard Boyd Barrett said he hopes for "tens of thousands" of participants and called the government "disgraceful" for encouraging the visit, according to The Journal.ie. Sinn Féin's Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, Labour's Ciarán Ahern and Social Democrats Senator Patricia Stephenson made similar arguments at a Wednesday press conference covered by both The Journal.ie and The Irish Times, accusing Trump of driving up fuel and living costs through his foreign policy and calling the visit "a moneymaking photo opportunity."

A poll by Ireland Thinks for the Sunday Independent found 69% of respondents did not welcome the visit, a figure cited by both The Journal.ie and Al Jazeera.

Protesters quoted by Al Jazeera, including Trinity College Dublin student Sean Radcliffe, framed their objection around Gaza, with Radcliffe calling on Martin to say the US is "facilitating genocide." That is Radcliffe's characterization, not a finding by any court or international body, and it is one several US and Israeli officials have publicly disputed. Ireland has taken a notably harder line than most Western governments on Israel's conduct in Gaza. It was the first EU country to ban imports from Israeli settlements, per Al Jazeera. The genocide label itself remains a contested political and legal claim, not an established fact.

The other side of the ledger: money

The Guardian noted Trump wants American tech and pharmaceutical firms to shift jobs and tax revenue from Ireland back to the US, a shift that could hit Irish state finances hard given how dependent Dublin's budget is on corporate tax receipts from US multinationals. This may explain why the government is treating this visit as a security problem to be managed rather than a political fight to be picked.

On the golf side, defending Irish Open champion Rory McIlroy told BBC Sport he's not dwelling on the politics: "His golf resorts have hosted PGA Tour events, European Tour events, LIV events… if he wants to come and watch the Irish Open, who are we to say no?" Eric Trump, speaking Friday, said his father is "willing to open his arms to anyone" but "also willing to go head to head with anyone."

What actually gets said behind closed doors at Áras an Uachtaráin on Saturday, and whether Connolly raises Gaza or tariffs directly with Trump, remains unclear. Martin's office has not detailed what will be discussed beyond the general framing of "issues of mutual interest." The Irish Open final round is scheduled for Sunday, with Martin saying he hopes to see "an Irish winner lifting the trophy."