President Trump hosts Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin at a St. Patrick’s Day reception.
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00:00Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, accompanied by the Taoiseach
00:28of Ireland and Mrs. Martin.
00:52Well thank you very much.
00:53It's a great honor.
00:55Great people.
00:56A lot of Irish friends right there.
00:58A lot of very, very good Irish friends.
01:02But thank you all for being here.
01:03Even though it's still a few days away, I want to be the first to wish each and every
01:07one of you a very happy St. Patrick's Day.
01:10It's a big day.
01:13And as a lifelong New Yorker, nobody knows the Irish better than me.
01:18I know too much about the Irish.
01:20So let me begin by saying I really do.
01:23I love the Irish.
01:24I've had great, great friends over the years.
01:27And I love the Irish.
01:28Special people.
01:29And I've been to Ireland many times.
01:31I have a lot of property in Ireland, actually.
01:34And it does very well.
01:35So I like it.
01:36If it didn't do well, I wouldn't like it.
01:39But I'm always struck by the awesome beauty of the Emerald Isle and the strength and warmth
01:45and grit and grace of the Irish people.
01:48Very few people can compare.
01:50Today, we're delighted to welcome Taoiseach Michal Martin, a very special man doing incredibly
01:57well and very popular, and his beautiful wife, Mary.
02:01And I want to thank you both for being here.
02:03The first official visit to the White House.
02:06So thank you very much for being here with us.
02:15I also want to extend a special welcome to Ireland's ambassador to the United States,
02:20Geraldine Boom.
02:23And you — where are you, Geraldine?
02:24There you are.
02:25Geraldine Byrne.
02:26Nation.
02:27And you're going to be working with this gentleman right here.
02:31He's a very great golfer.
02:33One of the best golfers that you'll ever see.
02:35He'll be playing golf all day long with — he'll take clients out to play golf.
02:40But he's won many, many club championships.
02:42And Ed Walsh, congratulations.
02:43Great.
02:44Great.
02:45It's going to be great.
02:46We're grateful also to be joined by the members and many members of our Cabinet — proud
02:56Irish Americans, Sean Duffy and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
03:01Where's Robert F.?
03:02And Sean?
03:03Hi, Bobby.
03:04I knew that — let's see, Duffy, we knew, and Kennedy, we knew.
03:09Some of you, I wasn't as sure.
03:11Pam Bondi, I don't know.
03:12Are you Irish?
03:13Are you Irish?
03:14I don't know.
03:15With that name, I can't even figure that out.
03:16She's doing a hell of a job, I'll tell you.
03:18That Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Energy —
03:21Secretary of Energy, Chris, right now, you're doing a good job.
03:29You see, the oil is going down.
03:31It's going down.
03:32Sixty-five dollars a barrel today.
03:34You're doing better than I even thought, because everything else is going to be coming down
03:38with it — all those expensive goods that you had to suffer with for four years are
03:42all coming down.
03:44Energy leads the way.
03:46Good job you're doing with our friend, right?
03:49HUD Secretary Scott Turner.
03:52You're not Irish, Scott.
03:53Where's Scott?
03:54Give me a break, Scott.
03:55You know, I want to be politically correct and not mention it, but I'm going to say,
03:59how much Irish do you have in you, Sean?
04:01I don't know.
04:02He said zero.
04:03That's right.
04:04Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins.
04:07Thank you, Doug.
04:09You're Irish.
04:11EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
04:15He's one of the most important guys.
04:18He's going to get those approvals.
04:20A nuclear power plant will take less than two weeks to get approved, right, Lee?
04:25It used to take 15 years.
04:28We're going to do it in a couple of weeks.
04:29U.S. Trade Representatives, Jameson Greer.
04:33Where are you, Jameson?
04:35Jameson Greer.
04:36Thank you, Jameson.
04:38And I also, there's a very special man here that I've been watching a long time.
04:44One of the greatest dancers ever in the world, Michael Flatley, is around here somewhere.
04:49There's nobody like this guy.
04:52Great, Michael.
04:53I've watched him, Radio City, I've watched you a lot, Michael, whose feet, the way they
04:59moved, I don't know how the hell you do it.
05:01Can you still dance like that or is Father Time caught up?
05:05You know, Father Time has never lost, you know that, right?
05:08But you're doing great.
05:11You look fantastic.
05:12Also with us are Representatives John McGuire.
05:15John.
05:16Hi, John.
05:18Good.
05:19Bill Heisinger.
05:20Bill.
05:22Ronnie Jackson.
05:23Doc Ronnie, as I call him, even though he's a congressman.
05:28Special guy.
05:29John Joyce.
05:30John.
05:31Thank you, John.
05:32David Joyce.
05:33David.
05:35And Guy Ressenshaler.
05:42You know that, Ressenshaler.
05:46That's actually the way you pronounce it, you know.
05:49Nobody else gets it right.
05:50I got it right, but it's a hell of a name.
05:53Despite that, he's very successful at what he does, which is politics.
05:57And he's a great guy.
05:58We have come together to this beautiful White House this evening for the annual shamrock
06:04ceremony, a living symbol of the long and unique friendship between Americans and the
06:08Irish.
06:09And we're always going to have that friendship, just like we have a great friendship.
06:13We'll always have that very special friendship.
06:15This wonderful tradition dates back to 1952, when the first Irish ambassador to the United
06:22States sent President Truman a box of shamrocks as a gesture of goodwill.
06:27Did you hear that, Walsh?
06:28The first.
06:29You're not the first.
06:30You're...
06:31I don't know what you are.
06:32What number are you?
06:33Do you have any idea?
06:34It's been a long time, right?
06:35Let's see.
06:36I could figure it out pretty easily.
06:38The bond between our nations is the old America itself, and it is as old as our country.
06:45So many Irish volunteers risked their lives in the American Revolution, and George Washington
06:50described Ireland as, quote, the friend of my country in my country's most friendless
06:56day, meaning Ireland stuck with us when we were not doing so well, when it was looking
07:01pretty bad.
07:03Irish heritage gave us the boldness of Andrew Jackson.
07:06I didn't know Andrew Jackson was Irish.
07:09The brilliance of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry Ford, and Walt Disney, and the leadership
07:14of the late, great President Ronald Reagan.
07:19It was men and women of Irish descent who built the hallowed halls of Notre Dame University.
07:31Notre Dame is great.
07:32What a great place.
07:33The legend of the Boston Red Sox and the golden arches of McDonald's.
07:37That's right.
07:38Today, one in every 10 Americans trace their roots back to the old country we're discussing.
07:44We have 5 million people living in Ireland, but we have 35 million people living here,
07:49right, of Irish descent.
07:51That's a pretty interesting statistic.
07:53I was looking at all these great dancers over here.
07:56You are very beautiful.
07:57Are you all great dancers?
07:59Right?
08:00Look at that.
08:01Young, great dancers.
08:03Wow.
08:04That's great.
08:06Did you perform for the group before?
08:09Because I heard somebody was doing really fantastic.
08:12They said these people are fantastic.
08:14I didn't get to see you.
08:15Do you want to do it again?
08:19We might have them do it again.
08:20I heard you did a fantastic job.
08:23As we celebrate Irish American Heritage Month, we're grateful to be joined by hundreds of
08:28these proud patriots right here today.
08:30And I know from personal experience that many of the people that we have here, they're just
08:36fierce.
08:37They have fierce Irish flame, we call it.
08:40You never give up.
08:41You never, ever give up.
08:42Oh, I even see Don.
08:44Hello, Don.
08:45You are definitely Irish, Don McGann.
08:48You are definitely an Irishman, there's no question about that.
08:51But you never give up.
08:52We will never give up, ever, right?
08:54For the young ones, ever.
08:56Because you never know what's going to happen, you know?
08:58Just a little bit more effort and you get there.
09:01Look at what happened to me.
09:02A lot of people said this was not a possibility.
09:07They said that was going to be a tough race and we won in a landslide.
09:13And let's keep it that way, right?
09:15We're having a great time bringing our country back and bringing it back at a level that
09:20people had no idea was going to take place this rapidly, this quickly.
09:24And a lot of our great people that are secretaries and the people working in the administration
09:29are here and they're doing a fantastic job.
09:31So I want to thank all of you.
09:33Five blocks east of where we are today, that spirit once helped save the very heart of
09:38the city's Irish American community.
09:40You all know about it.
09:41During the War of 1812, British forces rampaged through the streets of Washington, burning
09:47every building in their path.
09:49Every single building was being burned down.
09:52Almost every one fled, but not Father William Matthews of St. Patrick's Church, which was
09:59built to serve the Irish workers who came to build the Capitol and the White House.
10:03They were building the White House and they formed a great bond.
10:07And they were doing the pretty, pretty important buildings, the White House and the Capitol.
10:12I would say that's about as good as it gets.
10:14As the fire spread, the priest and the group of his parishioners said that we're just going
10:20to have to barricade ourselves in.
10:22We're going to have to do something because it's really bad.
10:25It's really dangerous in here.
10:27And inside the church, they climbed to the roof armed with only buckets of water.
10:31That's the only thing they had.
10:32And the other thing they had was faith in God.
10:35They had a big faith in God.
10:37They said, God will never do this to us, risking their lives.
10:40They defended the church.
10:42And more than two centuries later, St. Patrick still stands as a beautiful testament to their
10:47incredible resolve and bravery and the patron saint of the Emerald Isle.
10:53And that's what it is, St. Patrick.
10:56So we have St. Patrick's Day and we remember their courage and we honor the bravery of
11:00countless Irish-Americans who have kept our country safe, strong, prosperous and free.
11:06I made a little talk with my friend right behind me before at the Capitol, and they
11:12gave me one statistic that they don't have here.
11:15I thought it was an amazing statistic.
11:17Fifty percent of the people that won the Congressional Medal of Honor were Irish.
11:24Can you imagine?
11:26And I want to check on that because that sounds to me, you know, it's just that.
11:32I want to.
11:33Pam, would you please have that investigated?
11:36How is that possible?
11:37Seriously, how is that possible?
11:39I was very surprised to see that, Mary.
11:41Would you agree that that's possible with the Irish?
11:45With the Irish?
11:46Now, think of it.
11:47The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest award you can get in this country.
11:52And 50 percent, although you also have the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
11:56But I will say the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
11:59It's much easier to I mean, you know, you get it for achievement in something, but you
12:06don't have to take many, many bullets, although there has been one bullet that was there's
12:11been one bullet that was not too good.
12:15I'm the only one, the presidential that that got that.
12:19But think of that.
12:20Fifty percent of the people that received the Congressional Medal of Honor had Irish
12:26heritage and were involved in some form with the Irish.
12:30And that's pretty good.
12:31That's a pretty, pretty big statement.
12:33In closing, I want to remember one more Irish American patriot.
12:36Our nation lost this week in 1979.
12:40Anthony R. Dolan.
12:42Some of you know that name.
12:43A lot of the people that work in the White House know it very well.
12:46Became the youngest ever Pulitzer Prize winner for his reporting on government corruption
12:50in Stanford, Connecticut.
12:52In 1981, he became the chief speechwriter to President Reagan, whom he served for eight
12:58years.
12:59That's a long time.
13:00That's the full time.
13:01Eight years.
13:02Coining the phrase evil empire.
13:04That was his word.
13:05That's a very famous.
13:06People aren't here.
13:07The evil empire was a very profound statement.
13:11Tony served as a White House adviser throughout my first term and most recently was a special
13:16assistant to President on the on domestic policy and the Domestic Policy Council.
13:23He passed away early Monday morning and his family is devastated, to be honest.
13:28They're devastated.
13:29A couple of the family members are here, but they're devastated.
13:32He was a great person, great, brilliant writer.
13:35And so he will be very greatly missed.
13:39And Tony is looking down on us right now.
13:41And he was so proud of what he did and his heritage.
13:44He was so proud of his heritage.
13:46So I want to thank him and his family for the incredible job they did.
13:50Once again, let me wish everyone a very happy St. Patrick's Day.
13:54And with that, I would like to ask Taoiseach Martin to say a few words.
13:59He's a very, very special man in Ireland.
14:02As you probably know, he's a very popular guy, which is not easy in Ireland.
14:06And it's an honor to have both Mary and Michael here with us, because we really we've gotten
14:13to know each other very well and they're great people.
14:15Thank you very much, everybody.
14:32President Trump, distinguished guests, it is a singular honor to represent the people
14:38of Ireland as we gather to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
14:42The time-honored tradition of the Shamrock Bowl ceremony is an important moment to reflect
14:49upon the relationship between our two countries.
14:54Mr. President, as you said on an earlier St. Patrick's Day, and I quote,
14:59through trial and triumph, ups and downs, thick and thin, the extraordinary Irish people
15:05have stood by America's side, and America will always stand by theirs.
15:11Our peoples have stood side by side for a long time.
15:15And next year, the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
15:22Of the 56 signatories of that historic document, three were born on the island of Ireland,
15:28and many others were of Irish descent.
15:31Since then, Irish America has been at the heart of shaping this great nation.
15:37The ideals of liberty, democracy, and equality of opportunity forged in this country did
15:43much to inspire Irish independence.
15:46Our histories are interconnected because our people are interconnected.
15:52Today, as the President has said, more than 30 million people claim Irish ancestry in
15:57the United States.
15:59Those who came to America seeking refuge from poverty and hunger at home worked hard.
16:06They helped build the railroads that connected this country and the skylines that defined it.
16:12Others served their communities and their adopted home as firefighters, teachers, nurses,
16:20doctors, policemen, and soldiers.
16:23Irish people can now be found in almost every industry and community across the United States.
16:30Mr. President, Irish Americans have lived the American dream.
16:35I saw that for myself earlier this week in the great state of Texas, where I met Governor
16:51Greg Abbott, attended South by Southwest, and learned about exciting economic opportunities
16:57that abound in their own star state.
17:00I met with Texan-based companies using Ireland as a gateway into the European market, as
17:05well as the Irish companies investing in and buying from Texas.
17:11All across the United States, men and women go to work every morning in Irish-owned companies.
17:17These companies play a key role in the U.S. economy, operating in every sector, in every
17:24state.
17:25Some of your great American manufacturing companies count Irish buyers as their top
17:30client, with order books worth many billions of dollars supporting the jobs of thousands
17:37of fantastic American workers.
17:40Ireland is now in the top 10 as a source of foreign direct investment in the United States.
17:46Not bad for a small island.
17:55Ireland likes to trade with the United States, and the United States likes to do business
18:00with Ireland, because we are strong and reliable partners.
18:04Mr. President, let's do even more and better together.
18:08In the past, Irish labourers came to help build the new republic, the beacon on the
18:14hill.
18:15They even built this beautiful White House.
18:18They built the roads and the railroads that made this mighty union possible.
18:22Today, Irish companies are building the infrastructure connecting the United States in the 21st
18:28century.
18:30Throughout our great shared history, Ireland has played a role in bringing America closer.
18:36In doing so, we have been proud to help make this country great.
18:41Mr. President, American companies continue to invest in Ireland, where our access to
18:46the European market, talented workforce, and consistent and stable business environment
18:52makes us one of the best places in the world to do business.
18:56Just like our peoples and cultures, our economies are deeply interconnected.
19:02Investment in Ireland helps American companies sell their products across the world.
19:06Our island is home to a people with an outward perspective, generations of whom have looked
19:13to the United States for opportunity and inspiration.
19:18We have built prosperity through free and fair trade with partners all over the world,
19:23particularly here in these United States.
19:27Let us continue to build on that foundation, bringing ever-growing prosperity to both our
19:33great peoples.
19:34Let us continue to work together to make sure that we maintain that mutually beneficial,
19:39two-way economic relationship that has allowed innovation and creativity and prosperity to
19:45thrive.
19:47Mr. President, on St. Patrick's Day in 1981, in this House, President Ronald Reagan spoke
19:54of a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.
19:59That was the start of an extraordinary journey.
20:02Seventeen years later, after enormous effort and commitment and dialogue and disagreement
20:07and sheer perseverance, we signed the Good Friday Agreement.
20:11We signed a just and lasting peace into being.
20:15And the United States of America was at the very center of that magical moment of hope
20:21and inspiration.
20:23Successive Presidents, Republican and Democrat, cared enough to put in the late nights, the
20:30persuading, the cajoling, the negotiating, the encouraging, the influencing.
20:37And Mr. President, 3,720 people were killed in that conflict and close to 50,000 people
20:44were injured.
20:45In per capita terms, that's many millions of Americans.
20:50And just imagine that for a moment in terms of the scale of what happened.
20:54It was the support of the United States of America that was essential in bringing that
21:00to an end, one of the greatest achievements of American foreign policy, with heartfelt
21:05commitment from both sides of the aisle.
21:09The story of peace in Ireland is one that we wrote together.
21:14We know building peace is a difficult and painstaking task, but when the mighty United
21:20States of America puts its shoulder to the wheel, there is no mountain it cannot move.
21:28Mr. President, I welcome the unrelenting focus and energy you have brought to the search
21:43for peace in Ukraine and in the Middle East since your first days in office.
21:57In my view, there is nothing more noble, President, than the pursuit of peace, and this is what
22:06you are doing.
22:14Ireland is ready to work with you and our international partners to end conflict and
22:19especially to bring just, lasting and sustainable peace to the people of Ukraine and the people
22:25of the Middle East.
22:27Conflict and war hurt the most vulnerable.
22:31Too many children in particular have died in Gaza, in Israel, in Sudan, and too many
22:37children have been abducted in Ukraine.
22:40Let us together never cease to strive for peace, prosperity and opportunity for all
22:45the world's children.
22:47That would be an extraordinary achievement for the transatlantic relationship and an
22:51extraordinary legacy for the ages.
22:54Mr. President, County Clare is one of the most beautiful places on this earth, and Doonbeg
23:04is one of its finest jewels.
23:07One of Ireland's finest poets, and we have had a few as you know, wrote of the beauty
23:13of County Clare along the flaggy shore in September or October when the wind and the
23:21light are working off each other.
23:24And Heaney wrote of how Ireland can catch the heart off guard and blow it open.
23:32I have been to that part of Clare and I know that is true.
23:37Mr. President, I hope that we can welcome you to Ireland soon to catch your own heart
23:44off guard.
23:45You know better than anyone the beauty of Doonbeg, a place that would take anyone's
23:51breath away.
23:53Go raibh míle a maith agat, beannachtaí na féile pádraig ormh go léir.
23:58Thank you very much indeed, and happy St. Patrick's Day to you all.
24:07Time, honour and tradition, I'm going to present the Bowl of Shamrock to President Trump.
