Activists in Ireland and members of the Irish diaspora are urging Ireland's Taoiseach Micheál Martin not to attend the annual St. Patrick's Day events in Washington DC which usually sees the Taoiseach present the President with a bowl of shamrocks.
The Derry, Mid Ulster, and Inishowen branches of the Ireland Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) have launched an online petition urging all politicians on the island of Ireland to "Boycott the White House 2026."
The campaign says in part: "We call on all political parties on the island of Ireland to listen to the people and not go to Washington on St. Patrick's Day to shake hands soaked with the blood of Palestinians."
At the time of publication, the online petition had just under 1,100 signatures after being live for a week.
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Abroad, members of the Irish diaspora have issued a similar message in an open letter that was published on February 10 and is now circulating among some Irish diaspora groups on social media.
The letter, which does not explicitly state its author, demands that the Taoiseach "cancel any and all visitations planned on St. Patrick’s Day with the Trump Administration and take a real stance against the horrendous actions being committed by the US Government."
At the time of publication, the Irish diaspora open letter had more than 300 signatures from people in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Germany, as well as some from Ireland.
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Taoiseach confirms White House invite
The petition and online letter have been circulating in the week after the Taoiseach confirmed that he received a formal invitation from President Donald Trump to visit the White House on St. Patrick’s Day.
Speaking at the Cork Chamber Annual Dinner on February 6, he said: "In his letter [Trump] expresses that this visit would be an opportunity to celebrate the warm and historic friendship between the US and Ireland.
"The President also pays tribute to the Irish American community, who have made such an enormous contribution to the United States. He believes this is an opportunity to celebrate the special relationship between our two countries.
"Ireland’s relationship with the United States is as old as their republic and it was a vital one in the foundation of ours.
"It is a relationship which has been strengthened through a shared commitment to engagement and understanding.
"Our economic contacts are of enormous value to both of our countries – and this has at its foundation an open dialogue.
"Our cultural contacts are also of enormous value to both of our countries – and they have evolved through constant contact.
"I am looking forward to my meetings in Washington and to celebrating the 250th anniversary of a democratic ideal which remains an inspiration."
In recent years, the sitting Taoiseach has been met with calls to boycott the St. Patrick's Day events in the US, during both the Trump and Biden administrations. Despite the calls for boycotts, the Taoiseach has yet to sit out the longstanding engagement.
March 12, 2025: Taoiseach Micheal Martin and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. (RollingNews.ie)
Irish politicians on the St. Patrick's Day White House visit
Following the confirmation, Irish politicians have begun to sound off on whether or not they support the Taoiseach heading stateside for St. Patrick's Day.
People Before Profit TDs Paul Murphy and Ruth Coppinger are again calling for the Taoiseach to nix the White House visit this year. They cite ICE, US actions in Venezuela, threats to Greenland, and Trump's "Board of Peace" as some of the reasons, with Murphy saying the Taoiseach would not raise the issues in a serious manner.
Micheál Martin shouldn't go to the White House on St. Patrick's day, but we know he will & that he won't raise the cases of Seamus Culleton and all the others who have been held in ICE 'concentration camps' for months on end.
No need to imagine, we saw the groveling last year! pic.twitter.com/zdUX2pzEi3
— Paul Murphy 🇵🇸 (@paulmurphy_TD) February 10, 2026
However, TD Holly Cairns, head of the Social Democrats, has not objected to this year's visit. Speaking at her party's conference on February 9, she said in part: "When the Taoiseach visits the Oval Office next month, he must make the position of the Irish people clear.
"We stand alongside our EU allies, we are not joining the Board of Peace, and we do not bow down to bullies.
"Now, more than ever, we need to stand up for international law, promote peace, and invest in our defence forces."
Before the Taoiseach announced he had received the American invite, Labour Party leader TD Ivana Bacik said on RTÉ Radio's Morning Ireland: "If diplomacy over the coming weeks doesn't succeed in addressing the appalling threats being made by Trump, then of course Ireland must take its place in solidarity with European leaders who are now calling Trump a bully.
"And we cannot go to Washington with shamrocks certainly in that context, and we cannot allow US planes to use Shannon [Airport] and, indeed, other European countries which have US bases I am sure are having this very same conversation.
"Because it is unthinkable that a US which is militarily threatening a sovereign state in Europe could be allowed to use European countries as military bases for that."
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Meanwhile, TD Louise O'Reilly, whose party Sinn Féin boycotted the events last year, told RTÉ News last weekend that party leadership has yet to decide on this year's engagements. O'Reilly said it is the Taoiseach's job to go to Washington, but added: "I don't think that can be taken in any way as agreement with the policies of the administration, necessarily."
TD Peadar Tóibín, the leader of Aontú, agreed that the Taoiseach should visit, saying in part: "If we're going to have a political situation where we only speak to individuals we agree with, we're never going to be able to persuade or change."
Tánaiste Simon Harris, the head of coalition party Fine Gael, has expressed his support for the Taoiseach to visit this year, saying: "He should go to the United States. We should always engage. We should always engage, and we engage respectfully, and we engage being true to our values."
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