For his part, Trump incorrectly presumed, during his only public comments about Connolly, that she was a man.
For their first face-to-face meeting, Connolly’s team is strictly limiting who can attend the official handshake and greeting inside the Áras. Unlike previous U.S. presidential visits, Trump isn’t expected to join the Irish president in ringing a symbolic peace bell outside.
Likewise, whereas previous U.S. presidents have addressed the joint houses of Ireland’s parliament, an honor most recently bestowed on Biden in 2023, the building will remain closed for Trump’s visit.
“We have the convenient excuse that it’s a weekend,” said the Irish official, who conceded that the parliament has observed exceptional recalls from holiday periods to celebrate Biden and other visiting U.S. presidents. “We never got the impression that this was something President Trump was particularly keen to do anyway.”
Thousands of left-wing protesters, including senior figures from the main opposition party, Sinn Féin, are expected to march through central Dublin while Trump stays in the park. Anti-Trump protesters plan similar demonstrations Sunday in rural County Clare on the final day of the Irish Open, where the national police force and U.S. Secret Service have spent weeks wargaming how best to keep them far from the fairways.
Within the security cordon, Trump seems assured of a warm welcome from Doonbeg’s economically minded locals. They express uniform admiration for a U.S. leader who snapped up the bankrupt local resort at a knock-down price in 2014 and, spearheaded by son Eric, has transformed it into the area’s top employer and a highly profitable venture.
Similarly, the golfing elite — led by defending Irish Open champion Rory McIlroy — say they see only good coming from a chance to share a spotlight with Trump.
“We are all happy to be here, grateful to be here, and his [Trump’s] presence at the Irish Open makes it a truly international event,” McIlroy told a Doonbeg press conference. “That brings more attention and eyeballs, and that can only be a good thing.”