As the Taoiseach prepares to meet US president Donald Trump for their annual St Patrick’s Day encounter, Irish-American relations are at their most strained since the State’s foundation. “Irish Americans are more liberal than the image portrayed by Steve Bannon,” says Ted Smyth. A former Irish diplomat and public relations specialist who lives in Manhattan, New York, Smyth is sceptical about the idea that there is an emerging gulf between the Irish American diaspora and the Irish mainstream. “The Irish American vote is a classic swing vote. Smyth has seen how the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), normally considered right-wing and Catholic, has distanced itself from the White House.

Source: The Irish Times March 16, 2026 09:02 UTC