Despite calls from some quarters not to travel to Washington, D.C. for St. Patrick's Day celebrations Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is doing just that this week, so continuing a link with the U.S. on a special day that Ireland uniquely enjoys.
Varadkar's visit, as such, is a no-brainer.
But he will find his mind focused on a greater variety of issues and situations than in former years when meetings between a taoiseach and a president in the Oval Office focused primarily on Northern Ireland and the presentation of a bowl of shamrock.
The bowl will be duly presented this coming Sunday, the 17th. But it will rest on a full plate.
Varadkar told the Dáil that it would be a “big mistake” for an Irish government to boycott the annual White House event because of concerns about American foreign policy over Israel and Palestine. He said he would use the opportunity in public and private to make clear how Irish people feel about the situation in Gaza, and that the U.S. should adopt an approach that will “help to bring about a peace settlement in the region."
Varadkar and Biden, according to reports, are set to discuss, as the Irish Times put it and in order, the crisis in the Middle East, Ukraine and Northern Ireland.
That Northern Ireland is not actually in a current state of crisis is certainly a positive, though Mr. Varadkar should enlist President Biden's support in opposition to British government legacy legislation, a giant rug under which many foul deeds by state actors during the dark years of the Troubles will be hidden.
The Good Friday Agreement and the U.S. continued support for it will also be a subject for discussion in the Oval Office.
Varadkar told the Dáil that it would be a “big mistake” for an Irish government to boycott the annual White House event because of concerns about American foreign policy over Israel and Palestine. He said he would use the opportunity in public and private to make clear how Irish people feel about the situation in Gaza, and that the U.S. should adopt an approach that will “help to bring about a peace settlement in the region."
The U.S. has been doing just that in recent days, though with little success at the time of writing.
Varadkar has come under a degree of political pressure over this year's visit. But he has stated that he does not believe in boycotts.
“It is an opportunity to speak to leaders in the U.S., on the Hill, and also president Biden and Vice President Harris,” he said.
“We’re one of only 200 countries in the world, there are not many countries in the world that are guaranteed a meeting once a year. It would be a big mistake for us to boycott that and to lose that important engagement that occurs every year since the 1980s.
“But I will use the opportunity, both in private in the Oval Office and in public in the White House, to make clear how the Irish people feel about the situation in Gaza and how we believe the U.S. needs and ought to adopt an approach that will help to bring about a peace settlement in the region.
“We would diminish our influence in the world if we refuse to meet people and refuse to engage with them, including and particularly allies and friends like the U.S."
Interestingly, Sinn Fein is in agreement with Mr. Varadkar and will be sending its own delegation for St. Patrick's Day events and festivities.
Both the Irish government - which is sending an array of ministers to U.S. and Canadian cities, and the main opposition party in the Oireachtas, are making the right call.
