The Christmas sales are a while off yet, but TG4 has got ahead of the pack with a 2-for-1 offer of its own in Trump agus na Gaeil (TG4, 9.30pm). As part of its Iniúchadh current affairs strand, the documentary is a factual double-dip that tackles two distinct aspects of Donald Trump’s presidency as they pertain to Ireland.
The first is the tangled relationship between Irish-Americans and Trump. Traditionally, on the Democratic side of the aisle, more and more Irish-Americans are signing up to the cult of the ochre overlord. “I absolutely adore that man,” Marie Kiernan, originally from Longford and now resident in the US, tells presenter Kevin Magee early in this engaging film. “We owe him so much. Not just for America. He’s doing it for humanity. I go down to the White House whenever I can to say a prayer.”
Her views are perhaps extreme, but the Democrats did themselves few favours in putting up Kamala Harris to run against Trump, says Brian O’Dwyer, founding member of the Irish American Democrats. “Lovely woman… horrible candidate,” he says, suggesting her background as a well-to-do lawyer from California did her few favours. “She had a challenging time relating to people outside her particular constituency.”
The second half of Trump agus na Gaeil focuses on Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants – and its impact on undocumented Irish in the United States. Some will wonder why we should be expected to sympathise with undocumented Irish – or the historic presumption that they are entitled to be treated differently from other illegal migrants who happen to have another skin colour.
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That said, the cruelty of these new policies is breathtaking. We hear that a green card - for so long a Golden Ticket for immigrants – is no longer a guarantee of safe passage. If officials find a blot on your record, they can have you arrested and deported – even if you have lived almost your entire life in America.
“The Irish don’t have any privileged status anymore. They were treated very well in the past, but now they’re not treated any differently,” says Monsignor James Kelly, 88, who has been helping undocumented immigrants legally remain in the US since he moved to Brooklyn from Limerick more than 60 years ago. “They are just one of another group now. There are many Irish here who are not in good standing and don’t have status.”
His advice for illegal migrants is grim: keep your head down and do not leave the United States. There is every chance you don’t get back in. “You have to be very careful that you don’t make trips to Ireland. They [the undocumented] can’t afford to go home for Christmas and not be able to come back. It is a real problem because they have jobs here and families here, so they might not be able to come back here that easily.”
Politics aside, one surprising element of Trump agus na Gaeil are interviews with Irish-Americans from across the political divide who speak fluent Irish. They include Séamus Ó Neachtain, who lives in Long Island, and yet who is capable of explaining clearly and rationally his support for Trump’s policies in Irish (he feels those in America illegally “should be thrown out”). Some Irish viewers might disagree with his opinions – but how striking to see someone half the world away speaking Irish with greater ease than many at home.
