Donald Trump is due to head to Doonbeg, County Clare, after meetings in Dublin on a two-day trip to Ireland centered on golf. He is expected in Dublin on Saturday morning before moving on to his resort in Doonbeg.
The trip places him first at Áras an Uachtaráin in Dublin for a meeting with Catherine Connolly and then in a separate meeting with Micheál Martin. Heavy security is planned around the Phoenix Park and Doonbeg, while a 'No welcome for Trump' demonstration is expected to draw thousands to central Dublin on Saturday afternoon.
Catherine Connolly in Dublin
Connolly will meet Trump as Ireland’s president after a political career that included winning the presidency last year. Before that, she was an independent leftwing member of parliament for Galway and protested against Trump’s 2019 visit.
Her previous criticism includes calling him abhorrent and an abuser of power. She also said, 'If we are going to act as an independent sovereign state, a neutral republic, we must use our voice to speak to power and the abuse of power by president Trump,'
Trump was asked in March about her criticism and replied, 'He’s lucky I exist.'
Doonbeg and the Irish Open
After Dublin, Trump is due to travel to his golf resort in Doonbeg, where the Irish Open is taking place. That overlap gives the resort a second layer of attention during the visit: it is both Trump’s destination and a tournament site.
Trump Doonbeg hosts Irish Open for the first time as Rory McIlroy returns shows the resort’s role in the event, while Trump expected at Doonbeg during Irish Open 2026 places the visit in the same setting. People in Dublin and Doonbeg face the heaviest immediate disruption from the security plan and the protest activity, with the Dublin stop coming first and the Clare visit following it.
Micheál Martin in Dublin
Trump is also due to meet Micheál Martin in a separate meeting before the trip moves on to Doonbeg. Martin said he had no concerns 'at all' about the encounter, and Bobby McDonagh said, 'She’ll have an opportunity to have a chat with President Trump and make some gentle points reflective of Irish values. I expect it to go smoothly.'
Rosie O'Donnell also weighed in, saying, 'She should speak truth to power.' She added, 'I don’t think she should drop what she believes in to be polite to a madman. He is like a mad king that has destroyed the country.'
The immediate question now is what Catherine Connolly will actually say when Trump reaches Áras an Uachtaráin. She has already set out her view of him, and the meeting will test how that criticism sounds when delivered face to face in Dublin.
