US President Donald Trump said he hoped to visit Ireland this year during an Oval Office meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin dominated by questions around the Iran war.
It was a friendly start to the bilateral meeting to mark St Patrick's Day, with Mr Trump saying it was a "great honour" to welcome Mr Martin to the Oval Office, joking that he would probably want to talk about tariffs and praising the "tremendous" US-Irish trade relationship.
Asked whether he would visit Ireland in September, President Trump said he would try to attend the Irish Open at his Doonbeg golf course and that it would be an honour to be there.
The Taoiseach said the connection between both countries was historic that Irish people had helped to build America and that they were very proud of that connection.
However, reporters were predominantly focused on asking Mr Trump about the Iran war, which President Trump defended, saying that Iran would have started a nuclear war if he hadn’t launched a military operation.
The Taoiseach described Iran as a rogue state - which President Trump nodded along to - but he said that it was the Irish position that the conflict with Iran should be brought about peacefully.
He said "our hearts went out to the Iranian people" and drew parallels with the invasion of Ukraine.
President Trump said: "we helped with Ukraine, and they (Europe) don’t help with Iran" despite Iranian leaders being "the worst people since Hitler".
Trump criticises NATO allies during meeting with Taoiseach
On the Strait of Hormuz, he said the US did not need any help from NATO allies to reopen the Strait but that they had made a very "foolish mistake" by not offering to help.
Asked about President Catherine Connolly’s comments that the war was illegal, Mr Trump said "he’s lucky that I exist," adding that if Iran hadn’t been stopped, they would have developed a nuclear weapon.
The Taoiseach said that the transatlantic relationship between the EU and US was very important and that "issues over the last year or two" had been settled.
He also responded to criticism of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer by Mr Trump, who said Mr Starmer "doesn't produce" in the context of the Iran war and added that "his immigration policy is a disaster, and his energy policy is a disaster."
The Taoiseach said that Mr Starmer had done a lot to reset the Irish-British relationship and that he was an earnest, sound person that he thinks Mr Trump could get on with.
Taoiseach defends Keir Starmer after Trump criticism
Mr Martin said that "everyone accepts that you cannot have a rogue state with a nuclear weapon" and that Iran was "a sponsor of terrorism."
However, he said Ireland wanted a peaceful resolution to the conflict and he said Ireland was a peace keeping nation.
"Our hearts go out to the Iranian people who have been repressed and suppressed for so many years."
"We have to continue to work and see if we can bring peace ... a different regime to Iran, where Iranians and the people of the Middle East can leave in peace again.
"We have been peacekeepers all our lives. Ultimately all conflicts come to an end and we have to try and work towards that."
Taoiseach's defence of Starmer, Europe and peace
Mr Martin also pushed back on comments by Mr Trump saying that the UK and other European countries had allowed "millions and millions of people to come into your country that shouldn't be there".
The Taoiseach said that "Europe is still a very good place to live" and that the European view was you have to have fair but robust rules around migration.
He said Ireland's population was growing, but "in a very positive way", as our economy was going well and attracting people to work legally.
Mr Martin also said he would love to develop a legal pathway for work between Ireland and the US and that no-one was in favour of illegal immigration.
He said Europe was sometimes "characterised wrongly in terms of it being overrun" and that there are now "stronger mechanisms in place" to facilitate legal migration.
Earlier, US Vice President JD Vance said he was "very grateful" for the friendship of the Taoiseach and "everything that unites the people of Ireland and the United States of America".
Mr Martin was greeted by Mr Vance at his official residence, Number One Observatory Circle.
Mr Vance said the St Patrick's Day breakfast event is one of his favourite traditions of being US vice president.
''We are thrilled to have you and grateful for your friendship and everything that unites the people of Ireland with the people of the USA,'' Mr Vance told the Taoiseach.
''There are so many common cultural sensibilities and interests which are being celebrated today,'' Mr Vance added.
Vance 'very grateful for everything that unites people of Ireland' with US
The US vice president hailed all of the Irish investments being made in the US, with 375,000 American jobs depending on Ireland's investment.
Mr Vance said he understands the cultural friendship between the two countries and described Republican president Ronald Reagan as an example of a ''great Irish American''.
The Taoiseach said he was deeply touched by the depth of the welcome last year. He said Ireland is now the fifth largest foreign investor in the US with more than 800 Irish-owned firms established in the US.
Irish companies are pivotal in the global drive to lead the AI revolution, he added.
In attendance at the breakfast event are high-level Republican politicians, including Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick and Donald Trump's nominee for Department of Homeland Security, Senator Markwayne Mullin.
Stripe's Patrick Collison is also present with US Ambassador to Ireland Edward Walsh and Irish Ambassador to the US Geraldine Byrne Nason.
Taoiseach tells how Irish 'exiled children' made their mark in US
Mr Vance highlighted the importance of the business relationship between the two nations.
"I have this long list of all the investments that Ireland is making in the United States of America, all the things that we're doing in the country of Ireland.
"Of course, about 375,000 American jobs depend on the country of Ireland in one form or another. So just an important, important trading and economic partner," he said.
He also joked he was wearing more subtle Donegal wool socks Irish socks this year compared to last year.
After the all-important bilateral at the White House, it was on to Capitol Hill for the Friends of Ireland luncheon hosted by US House Speaker Mike Johnston.
The delegation later returned to the White House for the shamrock ceremony, which took place in front of several hundred guests.
"We find Irish Americans embody the best of our country and point us toward excellence and great success. And nobody has had, I would say, as a group, more success than people from Ireland," Mr Trump said.
The Taoiseach called on the US to work with Ireland to build a better world.
"Let us continue to inspire and to sustain those who today yearn for peace, justice and freedom," he said.
"Let the USA always be that beacon on the hill, holding firm to those founding values... and let, Ireland and the United States continue to work together to defend them and to build a better world, one that is free, secure and at peace."
The Taoiseach will depart for Brussels early tomorrow morning.
Taoiseach 'wasted unique opportunity' - Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin said Mr Martin "wasted a unique opportunity to speak in defence of international law" during his meeting with President Trump.
In a statement, the party's Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire said Mr Martin "stayed silent on the need to respect international law, failed to mention the ongoing genocide in Gaza or the United States' and Israel's attacks on Iranian civilians".
"The Taoiseach needed to be very clear with the US administration on the primacy of international law, and how US actions have breached this. The Taoiseach chose not to take this opportunity to state this publicly," Mr Ó Laoghaire said.
"It is important that this is made in the other engagements Micheál Martin has with President Trump and his officials."
"It was shameful to hear Micheál Martin telling Donald Trump he was doing his bit for peace in Gaza given the manner in which the ceasefire is continually being broken and how the so-called board of peace is undermining international law," Mr Ó Laoghaire said.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns also said that it was a "missed opportunity for Mr Martin to stand up for international law and peace".
In a statement, Ms Cairns said that the Taoiseach was "almost entirely mute" during the meeting, apart from defending British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
She said that an invitation to Mr Trump to come to Ireland would be "outrageous".
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett described the meeting as a "pathetic failure by Micheál Martin to challenge Donald Trump's ravings and his justifications for a blatantly illegal and murderous war".
"It was a thoroughly embarrassing performance by the Taoiseach, giving Trump the legitimacy of Ireland's national day to boast about his bombing and killing spree that has set the entire Middle East on fire and is imposing a severe economic cost on ordinary people in this country and across the world," Mr Boyd Barrett said.
Read more:
Watch: 5 moments from Oval Office meeting
Taoiseach picks his battles in notable moment of diplomacy
Irish-US relationship a 'two-way street' - Taoiseach
Additional reporting: Aisling Kenny, Gavin O'Callaghan, PA
