Yippee. I was meant to be going to America next week, but I pulled out of it. I can do my work from Ireland instead. I have no desire at present to visit the US. I expect I’m not the only person who thinks like that. 

Our Taoiseach (Prime Minister / head honcho) was in Washington schmoosing and plámásing the Trump administration, on the day they have announced draconian cuts to public service broadcasting, meals on wheels and food programs for school-kids. He even invited the King of Orange to Ireland, presumably on our behalf.

I feel ashamed. Tomorrow is our national holiday and while we are used to the top of the morning tooralloo bullshit from our American neighbours, this feels like abject prostration in front of our betters for the sake of a few bob. Echoes of when Ireland was an English colony with us poor peasants doffing our hats at the landlords in the big house. 

I’m sure Enda Kenny had his advisors telling him it was better he kowtow to Trump as it was in the nation’s strategic interest to do so, but where does it end? It makes us all feel weak. Strong people across the US are taking difficult, Principled Stands against the type of government Trump represents, and our principal representative has ignored them. Our nation is almost entirely anti-Trump, yet Enda has blithely ignored our views too. Even worse, he has invited Trump to Ireland on our behalf. Surely he realises that this could be a public relations disaster?

The art of politics is in marrying the furtherance of vital strategic interests with managing national sentiment. Politics fails when the two are divorced. In embracing Trump so wholeheartedly, he has shown how out of touch he is. This can fan the fires of populism. 

We can only call ourselves a nation when our representatives are willing to take principled stands for what is right. Some years ago, in confronting the Vatican, there was hope that Enda might surprise us. Alas it was too much to hope for.