Donald Trump arrived in Ireland on September 12, 2026 for a two-day visit that combines diplomatic engagements with attendance at the Irish Open at his Trump International Golf Links.
The US president touched down at Dublin airport shortly before 8:25 am (0725 GMT) in his Qatari-gifted plane. He spent a few hours in Dublin before travelling west to his golf course.
The trip has required at least 4,000 police and other personnel, including snipers. The operation has been described as one of the biggest security operations ever mounted in Ireland. Thousands of anti-Trump protesters are also planning a rally in Dublin.
During a meeting in Dublin with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, Mr Trump made unsolicited comments on the prospect of unifying the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland, which remains part of the United Kingdom. He said unification “may as well happen now.”
“I don't want to cause any problems but I'd love to see it unified. I think it would be a fantastic thing,” Mr Trump said. He added that “the U.K. will have something to say about it, obviously.”
The question has long been politically sensitive. Ireland became a self-governing Roman Catholic-majority country a century ago, while a six-county region in the north with a Protestant majority remained within the United Kingdom. Tensions between Protestant unionists and Catholic nationalists subsequently led to three decades of violence.
On Sunday, addressing business leaders from both countries at the US ambassador’s residence, Mr Trump recognised the difficulty of the issue, saying there is “no good answer” to the reunification question.
The visit again places presidential activity alongside Mr Trump’s commercial interests. His planned appearance at the Irish Open will take place at Trump International Golf Links, the property to which he travelled after his Dublin meetings.
Mr Trump returned to the White House for his second stint as president in January 2025. Last summer, he received then-UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen at his resort at Turnberry on the west coast of Scotland.
The Ireland trip follows that pattern of using properties associated with Mr Trump as settings for political and diplomatic activity. It also brings a US president into a constitutional question involving Ireland and the United Kingdom, while his immediate programme combines official meetings with golf.
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