During a courtesy call on Saturday, Irish President Michael D. Higgins' wife Sabina Connolly met with U.S. President Donald Trump at Áras an Uachtaráin in Ireland. Connolly, who has previously criticized Trump for his volatile behavior and actions in the Middle East, emphasized to Trump that the normalization of war and genocide cannot be accepted by the Irish people. She presented him with a St Brigid’s Cross as a symbol of peace and a poetry collection containing Michael Longley's "Ceasefire" poem.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
During his visit to Dublin on September 12, US President Donald Trump expressed support for a unified Ireland, saying he would "love" to see Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland united. He met with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, suggesting that unification might happen now and emphasizing it would be positive despite potential objections from the UK. This statement drew criticism from unionist parties in Northern Ireland, such as the DUP, who oppose a unified Ireland, while Irish politicians acknowledged the complexities of the issue tied to historical tensions between Protestants and Catholics.
Written for “Trump visits Ireland unification remarks” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but all 1 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 8286: attributed speech only · logged 2026-09-12
Ms Connolly, a left-wing independent TD before she was elected president, had previously accused Mr Trump of being “volatile” and “acting like a bully”, and has been critical of his actions in the Middle East.
asserted
she → elect → East
Following their meeting on Saturday morning, Ms Connolly said the “deep connection” between the US and Ireland “allows us to speak openly to one another”.
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connection → follow → one
The president said she told Mr Trump that the Irish people would support those who “build a shared peace in all those parts of the world currently suffering from such horrific war and violence”.
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who → say → war
In a statement following the meeting at Áras an Uachtaráin, Ms Connolly said: “We are in a world facing the existential threat posed by war and climate change, both of which are inextricably interlinked.
“
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both → follow → which
I conveyed the strong view of the Irish people that the normalisation of war and genocide can never be accepted.
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normalisation → convey → war
“As a country which has suffered famine, colonisation and the violence of the Troubles, but also the importance of the long and challenging road to peace, I emphasised the unique insight which Irish people can bring to the resolution of conflict.”
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people → suffer → conflict
Mr Trump was presented with a St Brigid’s Cross – recognised as a symbol of peace – during his brief courtesy call with Ms Connolly.
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Trump → present → Connolly
He was also given a collection of poems which contained the famous Michael Longley sonnet Ceasefire.
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which → give → sonnet
Read More
Considering Irish President Ms Connolly was a long-standing critic of Mr Trump before she took up office, the choice of gifts may be considered as pointed.
uncertain
choice → read → gifts
For his part, Mr Trump mistakenly referred to Ms Connolly as “he” when asked about critical comments she made against him in relation to the US-Israeli war against Iran in the Oval Office on St Patrick’s Day last year.
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she → refer → Day
Considering the context, the meeting of the two presidents on Saturday morning was always likely to present her most substantial diplomatic test since assuming office.
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meeting → consider → office
As it was, the engagement, heavy on ceremony, passed off without major incident.
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engagement → pass → incident
Mr Trump’s substantial cavalcade rolled through Phoenix Park shortly after 9am.
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cavalcade → roll → am
He emerged from his car to shake Ms Connolly’s hand before the pair smiled while briefly posing for photographs.
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pair → emerge → photographs
Ms Connolly stood at the end of the steps in the Portico to greet Mr Trump and then led the American president down the Francini corridor and into the state reception room.
Mr Trump was invited to sign the visitors’ book in the state reception room.
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Trump → stand → room
The pair then proceeded to the drawing room and into a hallway where Mr Trump was introduced to dignitaries.
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Trump → proceed → dignitaries
They then went back outside, where Mr Trump stood to attention while the national anthems of the US and Ireland were played.
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anthems → go → US
The US president then inspected a guard of honour before Ms Connolly introduced him to a delegation of Irish dignitaries including Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly and Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy.
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Connolly → inspect → Forces
Mr Trump then introduced Ms Connolly to his delegation, including his son Donald Jr and some of his grandsons.
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Trump → introduce → grandsons
The two presidents were then escorted to the state drawing room in the Aras for a courtesy call, which lasted slightly more than 15 minutes.
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which → escort → call
As Mr Trump left the Aras to continue with his engagements elsewhere in Phoenix Park, he briefly stopped to answer questions from reporters.
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he → leave → reporters
While he spoke about oil prices, he did not respond to questions about his conversations with Ms Connolly.
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he → speak → Connolly
However, he did leave a simple message in the visitors book.
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he → leave → book
It read: “A GREAT HONOR TO BE HERE THANK YOU”.
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HONOR → read → YOU
