US President Donald Trump has landed in Ireland and ahead of his attendance at the Irish Open in Co Clare, he made a few stops in Dublin.
President Donald Trump has touched down in Ireland and met with President Catherine Connolly at Áras an Uchtaráin in Dublin ahead of his journey to Co Clare for the Irish Open.
The golf event is taking place at his Doonbeg course, and after making a few stops in Dublin, the US President will be making his way West to watch the tournament.
While it's unknown what was said during the meeting between the two Presidents, details on what gifts were given to Donald Trump were shared ahead of his arrival.
Newstalk reporter Jessica Woodlock told The Pat Kenny Show: "She gave him a St Bridget's cross, which would be quite usual. She gave him a book about the voyage of St Brendan, which she describes it as 'one of Ireland's most important contributions to the culture of mediaeval Europe and a significant work of literature.'
"But interestingly, and I think a lot of people will read into this, out of all the great poets that Ireland has produced, she gave him a book of collected poems from Michael Longley.
"Now Michael Longley is a Belfast poet and she describes him, so this is the official correspondence that was issued to us from the Irish this morning, he's described as 'one of the finest poets in Ireland'.
"She describes his work as 'spanning love, war, nature, and art'. And the Aras's communication importantly points out that Michael Longley's sonnet, Ceasefire, draws on Homer and has become one of the defining Irish poems about what it is to forgive.
"So people will draw conclusions from her specific choice of that poem out of Michael Longley's collection, which as I said, discuss war and love as well."
She also noted that while there were smiles between the pair when he entered the Áras, there weren't any upon his exit.
He didn't answer any questions as to what was discussed during their longer than expected meeting, but he did answer two questions from the press in attendance.
Jessica Woodlock continued: "This sort of courtesy call was expected to last about 10 minutes and it actually went up to about 20 minutes, even longer, 25 minutes, and the pair weren't smiling when they came out. Trump wasn't his usual energetic self that you might expect.
"We'd love to be a fly on the wall. No media were allowed in and I suppose the thought process behind that was that media would shout questions in what's typically the small state room in the Áras.
"However, that being said, when Trump did come out, there's a red carpet rolled here on the Áras and as I said, they weren't smiling, but they did shake hands again.
"But Trump did take two questions from the media. He didn't refer to the meeting or talk about how it went with Catherine Connolly, but one of the reporters shouted that Irish people are facing significantly higher energy costs since the war in Iran, as we all know.
"He said that that would be resolved if the Irish looked to trading with the North Sea and worked closer with the UK counterparts. He also answered a question about Saudi Arabia as well.
"But all the Irish media here were asking him that key question, how his meeting with Catherine Connolly went, and I suppose, he didn't bite, is how I describe it.
"He looked, I suppose, in good form, but he wasn't kind of full of that usual energy that you might expect.
"He also didn't approach the media. He stood quite far back, but he did take those two questions."
President Trump is expected to fly from Dublin Airport to Shannon Airport and take a helicopter to Doonbeg direct, arriving between 2:30pm-3:00pm.
Main Image: President Catherine Connolly greets President Donald Trump at Áras and Uchtaráin on September 12, 2026, Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews
