Trump to meet President Catherine Connolly at Áras an Uachtaráin during Ireland visit

Donald Trump is expected to visit President Catherine Connolly at Áras an Uachtaráin during his planned trip to Ireland next weekend, after uncertainty over whether the meeting would take place.

Trump is likely to arrive in Dublin early on Saturday, Sept. 12, before traveling by Marine One helicopter to Phoenix Park. There, he is expected to meet Connolly and Taoiseach Michael Martin. A bilateral meeting with Martin at Farmleigh House had long been anticipated, but earlier draft plans reportedly contained no engagement at the presidential residence.

The meeting with Connolly is being described by people familiar with the visit as a brief courtesy call. Connolly said during last year’s election campaign that she would meet Trump if given the opportunity. She later criticized his administration in a St Patrick’s Day message, saying, "the normalisation of war can never be accepted." Trump also mistakenly referred to Connolly as a man during a St Patrick’s Day meeting with Martin in the Oval Office.

Security and logistical planning has already been under way for months, although government sources say the itinerary could change at the last minute. A planned stop to mark the start of construction at the new US embassy in Ballsbridge is now likely to be dropped. Trump is expected to be met at Dublin Airport by a senior government minister, probably Tánaiste Simon Harris, and could also meet US Ambassador to Ireland Ed Walsh at the ambassador’s Deerfield Residence in Phoenix Park.

Trump is due to travel to his Doonbeg golf resort on Saturday afternoon for the Irish Open. He is expected to leave Ireland on Sunday evening, Sept. 13, or early Monday morning. Demonstrations are planned in Dublin and Clare, while the Dublin portion of the trip is expected to remain largely within Phoenix Park.

“

the normalisation of war can never be accepted