Sinn Féin’s decision not to attend St Patrick’s Day events in Washington, DC, was “opportunistic”, and it was a “big mistake” for Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill not to go, according to Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
Last month Sinn Féin announced that Ms O’Neill and party leader Mary Lou McDonald would not take part in the events in Washington.
The party said it was taking a “principled stance” against US president Donald Trump’s stance on Gaza.
Mr Trump was asked about the Sinn Féin boycott by a reporter during his Oval Office meeting with Mr Martin last Wednesday and the US president said he hadn’t heard anything about it.
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Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister, DUP politician Emma Little-Pengelly, had an opportunity to meet Mr Trump at a lunch at Capitol Hill later in the day.
During an interview with the BBC Mr Martin said he views Ms O’Neill’s absence as “a big mistake”, adding: “I think it was the wrong decision because huge efforts were made at the beginning of the peace process to facilitate Sinn Féin at the time and a lot of people put a lot of effort into that.”
He added: “I thought it was a bit opportunistic, and I think not in the best interest of the people of Northern Ireland, or indeed the island of Ireland, for Sinn Féin to essentially boycott Capitol Hill this year.”
A Sinn Féin spokesman responded to Mr Martin’s remarks saying: “The decision not to travel to the White House was not taken lightly, but taken conscious of the responsibility each of us as individuals have to call out injustice.
“We are all heartbroken as we witness the suffering of the Palestinian people and the recent comments of the US president around the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza, something we cannot ignore.”
Separately, Mr Martin said relations between the European Union and the United States are “difficult, particularly on the economic side”.
He also said there are “challenges” over Ukraine though he welcomed the “momentum” behind peace there and in the Middle East, saying “too many people are suffering and too many people are dying”.
The prospect of a trade war grew last week with a threat from Mr Trump to hit EU exports of alcoholic drinks with 200 per cent tariffs.
Irish whiskey producers are facing severe tariffs on exports to the US in response to the EU promise to hit US whisky – which in turn was in response to tariffs on steel and aluminium that came into force on Wednesday.
Mr Martin said he hoped for engagement with the US on trade, adding: “I know that the EU wants to engage and understands that there’s a two-way process.”
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach told reporters that Ireland would benefit if the UK strikes a favourable economic deal with the US.
Mr Martin said while it was “early days” regarding the prospect of such a deal, his general view was that anything that benefited the UK economy had a knock-on positive effect for Ireland.
Mr Martin was asked whether Ireland should have an input in any UK-US negotiation on an economic deal, given the trading arrangements that apply in Northern Ireland as a result of post-Brexit accords between the UK and EU.
Northern Ireland applies EU customs rules under arrangements designed to ensure an open land border on the island of Ireland.
Mr Martin made clear that engagement on international trade policies was a matter for the EU, not for Ireland to act alone.
Asked whether he would be urging UK prime minister Keir Starmer to ensure that the situation in Northern Ireland was properly factored into any deal that he might agree with Mr Trump, Mr Martin said the UK government was “very conscious” of those issues.
“The situation in terms of UK-US is not clear yet,” he said.
“But from the Irish point of view, I take a general view that if the UK does well, Ireland will do well economically, because that economic relationship is very important.” – Additional Reporting: PA
