Sporting shamrock socks, JD Vance hails ‘great alliance’ with Ireland
Taoiseach Micheal Martin invited JD Vance and his wife Usha to Ireland during a warm exchange at the US Naval Observatory.
US vice president JD Vance has hailed the “great alliance” with Ireland during a meeting with Taoiseach Micheal Martin in Washington DC.
Mr Vance said he expected the two nations to work together on AI as he and his wife Usha welcomed Mr Martin and his wife Mary to their official residence for a breakfast meeting.
In what kicked off a series of a highly anticipated engagements in the US capital for St Patrick’s Day, the two exchanged jokes and pleasantries.
Mr Vance prompted laughter after revealing that he wore novelty shamrock socks as a way of “cementing the Irish-American relationship”.
“One of the things we try to do with this breakfast is just remind people of the important bonds of friendship between the United States and Ireland,” he said.
Mr Vance, who went on a road trip around Ireland with his wife in 2023, also praised Ireland’s “beautiful” landscapes and “interesting technological growth”.
He added: “One of the more robust areas for us to work on with our Irish friends in the years to come is going to be technology, and particularly artificial intelligence, as we really take the next stage in an important level of technological progress.”
Mr Martin joked that he would have to “adjust very rapidly” his dress sense and invited the couple back to Ireland, including to Mr Martin’s native Co Cork.
He mentioned the English Market in Cork city in particular, and the Trump golf course in Doonbeg, Co Clare.
“We would be honoured and delighted to welcome you both back to our shores before too long,” Mr Martin said at the US Naval Observatory.
“Now, the vice president did say the road trip could be somewhat difficult next time around, given the number of vehicles that might have to be attached.”
The Taoiseach also praised efforts by the new US administration to place a focus on peace, referring to the conflict in the Middle East and war in Ukraine.
Mr Martin said that peace on the island of Ireland was “a signature achievement” of US foreign policy and that Ireland was ready to “play our part” in ending other conflicts.
“Nowhere is the strength of the US-Irish relationship more in evidence than in our own peace process,” Mr Martin said.
“Forty-four years ago, President Reagan called for a just and peaceful solution to the conflict that has for so long devastated lives on our island.
“Politicians from both sides of the aisle rose to the occasion, and the lasting peace we enjoy today on our island is a signature achievement of US foreign policy.
“This story of peace is one that we both wrote together. We know that building peace is a difficult and painstaking task, and we are ready to play our part in supporting work to end conflict and to secure peace in Ukraine or in the Middle East or wherever.
“We welcome very much the unrelenting focus and effort that President Trump and his administration has brought to this task from his very first days in office, and we welcome the progress that is clearly being made.”
He continued: “The United States has been a steadfast friend of Ireland for centuries. Indeed, the United States was the first country to recognise our long-sought independence.
“Together, we have built deep and enduring political, cultural and economic bonds, greatly enriching our two nations in the process.”
Among those at the meeting are US health secretary Robert F Kennedy, US Supreme Court judge Brett Kavanaugh, and Ireland’s ambassador to the US Geraldine Byrne Nason.
