OAN Staff Blake Wolf
2:18 PM – Monday, February 24, 2025
Irish leaders have announced their intention to skip the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the U.S., and specifically in Washington, D.C., out of “protest” for President Donald Trump’s comments about moving Palestinians out of Gaza while the U.S. and allies help rebuild the war-torn region.
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Irish leaders have grown accustomed to traveling to Washington, D.C., for St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate their historic ties with the United States, while also further developing diplomatic ties.
Nevertheless, this year will be different, as Sinn Féin Republican party leader Mary Lou McDonald and North Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill have announced that they will not be traveling to the United States — in order to protest President Trump’s plan for Gaza.
“I followed with growing concern what’s happening on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank, and like many other Irish people, have listened in horror to calls from the President of the United States for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes and the permanent seizure of Palestinian lands,” McDonald stated.
“Such an approach is a fundamental breach of international law, is deeply destabilizing in the Middle East, and a dangerous departure from the U.N. position of peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis, and the right of Palestinians to self-determination,” she continued.
The announcement of the protest follows after a recent joint press conference between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump suggested that the U.S. would “take over the Gaza Strip” in order to rebuild the war-torn devastation, while temporarily relocating native Palestinians.
After some backlash from Arab leaders who made it clear that they did not want to take in Palestinians as refugees, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio maintained that the Trump administration was willing to hear other suggestions as well.
“If the Arab countries have a better plan, then that’s great,” Rubio said Thursday on the U.S. radio program “Clay and Buck Show.”
Ireland has long been a supporter of the Palestinian people, drawing history-based parallels between Ireland’s prior struggle to end British occupation in Ireland.
Nearly four-fifths of the republic’s population is Roman Catholic, according to Britannica.
In 1980, Ireland was the first European Union member state to endorse the establishment of a Palestinian state. Additionally, it was also “the last EU member to grant permission, in 1993, for Israel to open a residential embassy. And Irish politicians have delivered some of Europe’s harshest criticism of Israel during the ongoing war in Gaza,” according to NPR.
Irish citizens flooded the streets of Dublin in July to protest Israel’s retaliatory fighting, with no mention of the civilians who were murdered or abducted by Hamas — the Palestinian Islamist terrorist group that controls Gaza. More than 1,200 innocent people of all ages, including 46 Americans, were brutally killed in southern Israel by Hamas.
“HAMAS–the acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (Islamic Resistance Movement)—is the largest and most capable militant group in the Palestinian territories and one of the territories’ two major political parties,” according to dni.gov
Meanwhile, O’Neill also spoke out against Trump’s comments — though she still stressed the importance of maintaining diplomatic relations with the new administration.
“I have taken the decision as First Minister not to attend events at the White House this year,” O’Neill wrote in an X post. “We have all witnessed the heartbreak and devastation and the suffering in Palestine, and the recent comments by the U.S. president around the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza is something which I cannot ignore.”
“I will continue to engage with the U.S., both politically and economically, to better people’s lives. But people rightly look to leaders to stand against injustice. And in the future, when our children and our grandchildren ask us what we did when the Palestinian people endured unimaginable suffering, I will say I stood firmly on the side of humanity,” she added.
Nevertheless, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin is still expected to make the trip to the United States, despite the “protesting” from his colleagues.
“Sinn Féin does what it always does – it engages in politics. I have a responsibility to the country,” Martin stated in response to questions about the boycott.
McDonald added that she supported Martin going ahead with the visit, noting that she hoped Martin would utilize the “opportunity to reflect the view of the Irish people in relation to Palestine, in support of international law, and to reject threats for the mass expulsion of Palestinian people and seizures of their land.”
Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) quickly voiced its disapproval of the boycott, calling it “reckless.”
“The United States is a key economic partner for Northern Ireland,” stated DUP Leader Rt. Hon. Gavin Robinson.
“Turning away from that relationship, particularly at a time when we need continued international support, is a reckless move that does nothing to advance the interest of people and businesses in Northern Ireland,” he added.
“Saint Patrick’s Day has for many years served as a unique opportunity to celebrate our culture and business links globally, in particular the many strong links between Ireland and the U.S. It is also a very important annual opportunity to ensure that the political connections and commitments that underpin our peace process are maintained. We look forward to carrying forward the tradition this year,” an unnamed spokesperson for the Irish government told Fox News.
“Ireland and the US have a significant and mutually beneficial economic relationship – valued at more than one trillion euros. Ireland is now the 6th largest source of foreign direct investment into the US, with investment by Irish companies in 2023 worth $351 billion,” the official added.
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