Vice President JD Vance attends a St. Patrick's Day Breakfast with Taoiseach of Ireland Micheál Martin.
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00:00Well, good morning, everybody.
00:26I don't think I need the microphone, but I guess I have it.
00:29And we're thrilled to welcome Mateshuk Martin, the leader of Ireland, and of course his lovely
00:35wife.
00:36And thank you both for being here.
00:38We're thrilled to be able to celebrate this moment of friendship between the United States
00:43and Ireland and really cement what is, I think, one of the great alliances and great friendships
00:47between nations in the world.
00:49As I was telling Mateshuk back in the library earlier, Usha and I actually took a trip to
00:55Ireland in October of 2023, a bit on the lark, actually.
00:59Susan Collins, my dear friend from Maine, from the United States Senate, may remember
01:03that we were supposed to have a government shutdown.
01:05We didn't have a government shutdown, so Usha and I actually had a week where we could go
01:08anywhere and we decided to go to Ireland.
01:10I just say it's such a remarkable combination of incredible community, as we were talking
01:16about earlier, a beautiful landscape, but also a lot of interesting technological growth.
01:21And I think that one of the more robust areas for us to work on with our Irish friends in
01:26the years to come is going to be technology, and particularly artificial intelligence,
01:31as we, I think, really take the next stage in an important level of technological progress.
01:36Now, I want to give some acknowledgement of all the honored guests here.
01:40I can't, of course, call everybody out.
01:42I have to say thank you to Ashley and Brett Kavanaugh, Justice of the Supreme Court, and
01:46his wife for being here.
01:47Thank you to Mrs. Roberts for being here, Senator Sheehy, and, of course, the ambassador
01:53from Ireland, who I've met with before, but in a previous job.
01:58And let me just say, before I introduce the Taoiseach, that one of the things that we
02:02try to do with this breakfast is just remind people of the important bonds of friendship
02:08between the United States and Ireland.
02:10And I think it's a great opportunity to do that.
02:13It's also a really great opportunity for Usha to wear her pair of green pants.
02:18She's had these in the closet for years, and probably gets to break them out.
02:24Perhaps the most honored guest, of course, except for the Taoiseach and his wife, is
02:28my dear friend from the United States Marine Corps, Colin Tierney, who brought his brother.
02:33Joe, good to see you, man.
02:35And here's the thing that Colin taught me when I was in the United States Senate.
02:39He taught me about sock diplomacy, about the importance of gifting socks to my fellow senators.
02:47I give Massachusetts socks to our friends from Massachusetts, and Utah socks to our
02:51friends from Utah.
02:52So, Colin, in your honor, I've worn these shamrocks.
02:56And I will say, when we meet later in the Oval Office, to the Taoiseach, the President
03:06is a very big fan of conservative dress.
03:09So, if he notices these socks, you have to defend me.
03:14This is an important part of cementing the Irish-American relationship, and that's the
03:18only reason I'm wearing these socks.
03:20But we're thrilled to have you.
03:22Thank you, and God bless you.
03:34Mr. Vice President, Second Lady, honored guests, let me again begin by expressing my sincere
03:41thanks to President Trump and to you, Mr. Vice President, for continuing the time-honored
03:47tradition of celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Washington, D.C.
03:52Thank you, Second Lady, and thank you, Usha, for hosting this St. Patrick's Day breakfast
03:58in your residence.
03:59Mary and I greatly appreciate your warm welcome and hospitality, and I've learned something
04:05new this morning, the use of socks.
04:10And that we're just fairly rapidly, given my conservative kind of dress sense, my wife
04:16Mary can testify to.
04:18And to some, it may seem strange that I, as Taoiseach, choose to spend, of course, our
04:23national day here in the United States.
04:25But as you may know, Mr. Vice President, St. Patrick's Day, as it is celebrated today,
04:30with great fanfare and flourish, began here in the United States.
04:36In times long past, Irish emigrants far from hearth and home marked the day in memory of
04:42the families that they had left behind.
04:45And over time, the celebrations grew in strength and number.
04:49And today, we are deeply proud that March 17th is a day to showcase our rich culture
04:56and great friendship from across the world.
04:59The United States has been a steadfast friend of Ireland for centuries.
05:04Indeed, the United States was the first country to recognize our long-sought independence.
05:10Last year, we marked 100 years of Irish-U.S. diplomatic relations.
05:15Together, we have built deep and enduring political, cultural, and economic bonds,
05:20greatly enriching our two nations in the process.
05:24First and foremost, our kinship was built upon the ties between our people, especially
05:30the generations of Irish who made their homes here.
05:34Scots-Irish immigrants, among them your forebears, Mr. Vice President and President,
05:39played a key role in shaping this great country, and Appalachia in particular.
05:45Many helped to build the railroads and contributed greatly to America's prosperity.
05:51Others brought the fiddle to meet the African banjo, blending the traditions of the immigrant
05:56communities who lived there to create something new, fresh, and exciting.
06:01I was fascinated to learn that in recent years, geologists discovered that the Appalachian
06:07Trail does not begin and end in North America.
06:10Part of it is in Ireland and Britain, split millions of years ago by the movement of tectonic plates.
06:17It is not so surprising, then, that Irish and Scottish immigrants upon arrival in the
06:23United States chose a familiar landscape on which to found their new lives.
06:29Irish-Americans continue to make their mark on America, from politics to the arts to business,
06:35and they have helped to sustain our people-to-people ties and make a crucial contribution to our
06:41economic relationship.
06:43Ireland is now in the top ten as a source of foreign direct investment into the United
06:48States, supporting many, many jobs across the country.
06:52And nowhere is the strength of the U.S.-Irish relationship more in evidence than in our
06:57own peace process.
06:59Forty-four years ago, President Reagan called for a just and peaceful solution to the conflict
07:06that has for so long devastated lives on our island.
07:10Politicians from both sides of the aisle rose to the occasion, and the lasting peace we
07:15enjoy today on our island is a signature achievement of U.S. foreign policy.
07:21And this story of peace is one that we both wrote together.
07:26And we know that building peace is a difficult and painstaking task, and we are ready to
07:31play our part in supporting work to end conflict and to secure peace in the Ukraine or in the
07:38Middle East or wherever.
07:41And we welcome very much the unrelenting focus and effort that President Trump and his administration
07:48has brought to the task, to this task, from his very first days in office.
07:53And we welcome the cause that is clearly being made.
07:57And as it has always been, the United States remains an indispensable partner and global
08:03actor.
08:04Mr. Vice President, I know that we care deeply about the world, our children and our children's
08:09children inherit.
08:10And I know that the U.S. and Ireland will continue to stand together, working tirelessly
08:16to secure a future that offers the promise of peace and prosperity.
08:20Mr. Vice President, as I wrap up, allow me to thank you and Lucia once again for opening
08:25your home to us and to us to the people of Ireland.
08:30You have made us feel right at home in this splendid house on our first St. Patrick's
08:34Day together.
08:36And I hope that you will allow us to return there.
08:39And I've been told that our small island holds a special place in your shared memories,
08:43as you said to me earlier, as you enjoyed a road trip to Ireland.
08:47Now, the Vice President did say the road trip could be somewhat difficult the next time
08:51around.
08:52A number of vehicles might have to be hand-attached.
08:56And you visited Ring of Kerry, Skiverine, home of our Olympic champions, as I explained
09:02to the Vice President, Cashel in Dublin.
09:05And you tasted the delights, I believe, of the English market in Cork as well.
09:11And I'd love to bring you back there in particular.
09:14We would be honored and delighted to welcome you both back to our shores before too long.
09:18And Mr. Vice President, I know you're partial to a game of golf.
09:22We have some exceptional courses in Ireland, one of which, in a remote and beautiful part
09:27of Ireland called Doonbeig.
09:29President Trump can tell you a thing or two about Doonbeig.
09:32So, Mr. Vice President, Madam Second Lady, Mary and I thank you once again for your warm
09:38hospitality.
09:39And we thank you for your friendship.
09:41As we say in Gaelic, go raibh míle, míle maith agaibh go raibh.
10:15Love it.
10:16I don't know.
10:17I think so.
10:18I don't know.