‘Majority do not welcome him’: Trump heads to Ireland amid fury over Gaza

Protests set to erupt across Ireland, where President Connolly has long regarded the US as an untrustworthy power.

Demonstrators hold placards featuring US President Donald Trump, in support of Palestinians during a protest in relation to the ceasefire in Gaza, in Dublin, Ireland, February 21, 2026 [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]

Donald Trump is set to arrive in Ireland on Saturday, but most Irish people aren’t happy about it.

A recent poll by the Sunday Independent and Ireland Thinks reported that 69 percent do not support the US president’s visit.

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“Thousands of us will march on Saturday because we refuse to normalise a man who has facilitated genocide,” Sean Radcliffe, an economics undergraduate student at Trinity College Dublin, told Al Jazeera.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin “should say it clearly, firmly, and publicly: the United States is facilitating genocide,” added Radcliffe, who is a leader of the student body’s Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign.

Sean Corcoran, an environmental artist based on the Copper Coast in Waterford, spent five hours with three others carving “No Kings” – a nod to anti-Trump protests under the same name in the US, along with “Gaza, Iran, Ice ,” into the sand of Dublin Bay Beach.

“As an Irish artist and citizen, I believe it is important for me to use my voice to share my opinion about the Trump administration,” he told Al Jazeera. “Despite the diplomatic and security welcome that Mr Trump will receive when he lands in Ireland, the majority of Irish do not welcome him to Ireland.”

Many in Ireland are using Trump’s visit as a way to show their anger over US policies [Courtesy: Uplift]

Trump is expected to meet with several figures in Ireland’s leadership, including Martin and antiwar President Catherine Connolly, who has previously said the US is, along with France and England, a nation Ireland “certainly cannot trust”.

Protests are planned throughout Ireland, including in Dublin’s Garden of Remembrance. Many are themed against Trump’s role in supporting Israel’s actions in Palestine.

Ireland, one of the West’s most vocal critics of Israel, was the first European Union country to ban imports from illegal Israeli settlements.

Roughly 4,000 security personnel will be enlisted to protect the US leader from protests and other risks during his visit, including roughly 1,000 US Secret Service agents and “anti-drone weaponry”.

Following his visits with Ireland’s political elites and the US ambassador to Ireland, resulting in the temporary shutdown of Phoenix Park, one of Europe’s largest parks, he is expected to visit the Irish Open golf tournament in Doonbeg, where Trump owns a resort.

Connolly, whose role is largely ceremonial, has said that she is “not afraid to stand against the consensus”. She secured a landslide victory in October 2025.

During her campaign, Connolly said she would meet the US president in her official capacity, but added that “I doubt that [genocide] would be the discussion, I doubt that [Gaza] would be on the agenda”.

“People expect a slightly more activist president who might speak out,” Johan Dornschneider-Elkink, professor of Computational Political Science at University College Dublin, told Al Jazeera. “The high level of consensus in the Irish population means that the president can also feel a bit comfortable pushing it a bit.”

Still, the limitations of Connolly’s role, and the economic obligations of the taoiseach are expected to overshadow the issue of Palestine during high-level conversations.

‘Ireland is very much aligned in spirit’

“I think [the protest] shows that Ireland is very much aligned in spirit and policy-wise with the Palestinian people; they very much identify with Palestine,” Stephanie Dornschneider-Elkink, associate professor of Political Science at University College Dublin, told Al Jazeera.

“But there’s also only so much space to be critical. Ireland depends on the US, and there’s an economic relationship at stake.”

Johan added that the visit is more an opportunity for Irish people who want to make known their stance on both Palestine and the Trump administration.

“There’s an understanding that Trump is one president among many, and there will be another president. There’s a longer history of the Irish-US relationship which nobody wants to see damaged.”

Leader of the Opposition Mary Lou McDonald of Sinn Fein, told journalists this week that she hoped Connolly would raise issues like “ongoing facilitation of a genocide in Gaza,” adding that the party will take part in Saturday’s protests.

The party’s spokesperson on foreign affairs, trade, and defence, Donnchadh O Laoghaire TD, shared on his Instagram that he would join the protest in the Garden of Remembrance, asking others to join him “to stand up against genocide and against war”.

US President Donald Trump and Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheal Martin attend a St Patrick’s Day reception in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on March 17, 2026 [Kylie Cooper/Reuters]

The demonstration is organised by the Irish Neutrality League, in coalition with the Irish Anti-War Movement and social justice movement Tonn na Cle, and has received endorsements from the Social Democrats, Labour, People Before Profit-Solidarity, and the Green Party, in addition to Sinn Fein.

Student groups in Ireland have been among the loudest voices of pro-Palestine organising in the country, with Trinity College Dublin becoming the first university in the world to officially sever ties with Israel.

Radcliffe said there is no generational divide “of any significance” over the Israel-Palestine conflict in Ireland.

“Some of the best [pro-Palestine] activists I know in Ireland are pensioners,” he said.

抗议活动预计将在爱尔兰各地爆发，爱尔兰总统康诺利长期以来一直将美国视为不可信赖的力量。

2026年2月21日，在爱尔兰都柏林，示威者举着印有美国总统唐纳德·特朗普头像的标语牌，声援巴勒斯坦人，抗议加沙停火。[克洛达·基尔科因/路透社]

唐纳德·特朗普将于周六抵达爱尔兰，但大多数爱尔兰人对此并不高兴。

《星期日独立报》和爱尔兰智库最近的一项民意调查显示，69%的人不支持美国总统的访问。

特朗普的伊朗战争如今面临中期选举问题（共4条，第1条）

列表 2/4：从特朗普转向马姆达尼的选民群体是真实存在的。这一趋势将如何影响中期选举？

列表 3/4：特朗普会给所有美国成年人每人 5000 美元吗？一些特朗普的支持者对此表示怀疑。

特朗普关于共和党人可以在中期选举中“肆意作弊”的四个笑话之四

“周六我们将有数千人游行，因为我们拒绝将一个助长种族灭绝的人正常化，”都柏林圣三一学院经济学本科生肖恩·拉德克利夫告诉半岛电视台。

爱尔兰总理迈克尔·马丁“应该明确、坚定、公开地表示：美国正在助长种族灭绝”，拉德克利夫补充道，他是学生团体“抵制、撤资、制裁”运动的领导人。

居住在沃特福德铜海岸的环境艺术家肖恩·科克伦 (Sean Corcoran) 和另外三人花了五个小时在都柏林湾海滩的沙子上刻下了“No Kings”（意为“没有国王”），以此声援美国同名的反特朗普抗议活动，同时还刻上了“Gaza, Iran, Ice”（意为“加沙、伊朗、冰”）。

“作为一名爱尔兰艺术家和公民，我认为我有责任发声，表达我对特朗普政府的看法，”他告诉半岛电视台。“尽管特朗普先生抵达爱尔兰时会受到外交和安全方面的欢迎，但大多数爱尔兰人并不欢迎他。”

许多爱尔兰人正借特朗普访问之机，表达他们对美国政策的愤怒。[图片来源：Uplift]

预计特朗普将与爱尔兰领导层的几位人物会面，其中包括马丁和反战总统凯瑟琳·康诺利。康诺利此前曾表示，美国与法国和英国一样，是爱尔兰“绝对不能信任的国家”。

爱尔兰各地都计划举行抗议活动，包括在都柏林的纪念花园。许多抗议活动的主题是反对特朗普支持以色列在巴勒斯坦的行动。

爱尔兰是西方对以色列批评最激烈的国家之一，也是第一个禁止从以色列非法定居点进口商品的欧盟国家。

大约将有 4000 名安保人员被征召，以保护美国领导人在访问期间免受抗议和其他风险的影响，其中包括大约 1000 名美国特勤局特工和“反无人机武器”。

在与爱尔兰政治精英和美国驻爱尔兰大使会面后，导致欧洲最大的公园之一——凤凰公园暂时关闭，预计他将前往杜恩贝格观看爱尔兰公开赛高尔夫锦标赛，特朗普在那里拥有一家度假村。

康诺利的角色主要是礼仪性的，她曾表示自己“不怕与主流意见相悖”。她在2025年10月的选举中取得了压倒性胜利。

在竞选期间，康诺利表示她将以官方身份会见美国总统，但她补充说：“我怀疑（种族灭绝）是否会成为讨论的话题，我怀疑（加沙）是否会被列入议程。”

“人们期待一位更积极主动、敢于发声的总统，”都柏林大学学院计算政治学教授约翰·多恩施奈德-埃尔金克告诉半岛电视台。“爱尔兰民众的高度共识意味着总统也可以更放心地推动一些事情的发展。”

不过，康诺利的角色局限性以及总理的经济义务预计会在高层会谈中使巴勒斯坦问题黯然失色。

“爱尔兰在精神上与我们非常契合”

“我认为（这场抗议）表明，爱尔兰在精神和政策上与巴勒斯坦人民非常一致；他们非常认同巴勒斯坦，”都柏林大学学院政治学副教授斯蒂芬妮·多恩施奈德-埃尔金克告诉半岛电视台。

“但是，批评的空间也是有限的。爱尔兰依赖美国，两国关系关乎经济利益。”

约翰补充说，这次访问更多的是让爱尔兰人有机会表达他们对巴勒斯坦和特朗普政府的立场。

“大家都明白，特朗普只是众多总统中的一位，以后还会有另一位总统。爱尔兰和美国有着悠久的历史关系，没有人希望看到这段关系受到损害。”

新芬党反对派领袖玛丽·卢·麦克唐纳本周告诉记者，她希望康诺利能够提出诸如“持续助长加沙种族灭绝”之类的问题，并补充说，该党将参加周六的抗议活动。

该党外交、贸易和国防事务发言人唐纳查·奥·莱盖尔议员在Instagram上表示，他将参加在纪念花园举行的抗议活动，并呼吁其他人加入他，“站出来反对种族灭绝和战争”。

2026年3月17日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和爱尔兰总理米歇尔·马丁在华盛顿特区白宫东厅出席圣帕特里克节招待会。[Kylie Cooper/路透社]

此次示威活动由爱尔兰中立联盟组织，联合爱尔兰反战运动和社会正义运动 Tonn na Cle，并得到了社会民主党、工党、人民优先于利润团结党和绿党以及新芬党的支持。

爱尔兰的学生团体一直是该国亲巴勒斯坦组织中最响亮的声音之一，都柏林圣三一学院成为世界上第一所正式与以色列断绝关系的大学。

拉德克利夫表示，在爱尔兰，以色列-巴勒斯坦冲突问题上不存在“任何重大”的代际分歧。

他说：“我认识的一些爱尔兰最优秀的亲巴勒斯坦活动家都是退休人员。”