President Catherine Connolly said she delivered a blunt message to the US president: the Irish public does not accept any attempt to make war and genocide seem normal.
President Connolly and Donald Trump spoke for more than 20 minutes during a courtesy call at Áras an Uachtaráin this morning.
Although video cameras were not permitted in the room, members of both delegations were present for the Phoenix Park meeting.
The engagement followed a formal welcome that included signing the Distinguished Visitors Book, the playing of the National Anthems and an Inspection of a Guard of Honour, before the two leaders moved to the President’s Drawing Room for talks.
Donald Trump signed the visitors book at Áras an Uachtaráin
In a statement issued after the meeting, President Connolly said: “As President of Ireland, I am very conscious that Ireland and the United States of America are bound by strong ties.
“This is a deep connection, built over centuries, which allows us to speak openly to one another.
“We are in a world facing the existential threat posed by war and climate change, both of which are inextricably interlinked.
President Connolly greets Donald Trump at Áras an Uachtaráin
“I conveyed the strong view of the Irish people that the normalisation of war and genocide can never be accepted.
“As a country which has suffered famine, colonisation and the violence of the Troubles, but also the importance of the long and challenging road to peace, I emphasised the unique insight which Irish people can bring to the resolution of conflict.
“I highlighted to President Trump the strong commitment which the Irish people have to international relations, to the importance of the United Nations, including the pride which Irish people feel in Ireland’s contribution to UN Peacekeeping since 1958, and to the obligations contained within Article 29 of our Constitution towards the peaceful resolution of international disputes.
“I assured President Trump that the Irish people would strongly support all those who have the strength to build a shared peace in all those parts of the world currently suffering from such horrific war and violence.”
President Connolly and Mr Trump also discussed the contribution of Irish emigrants to the United States, yesterday’s 25th Anniversary of 9/11, and the 250th Anniversary of the independence of the United States.
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The statement said that in relation to Northern Ireland, President Connolly “noted the contribution made by the United States to the peace process, including through the International Fund for Ireland”.
President Connolly presented President Trump with a St Brigid’s Cross, along with a copy of the book ‘Navigatio Sancti Brendani – The Voyage of St Brendan’, and the collected poems of Michael Longley, including his sonnet ‘Ceasefire’.
