Protests are set to take place in Ireland when President Donald Trump attends the Irish Open at his golf course in Doonbeg, County Clare, next month.
Local groups, including the Irish Neutrality League, which advocates for Irish neutrality in international conflicts, and The Irish Anti-War Movement, have expressed their intention to take part in demonstrations.
Irish Labour Senator Nessa Cosgrove has referred to the visit taking place from Sept. 12 to 13 as a “security nightmare” and said she hopes the U.S. President “takes time to learn why people might be exercised" about the trip.
“They are angry about fuel prices, which have spiraled because of his unnecessary war of aggression in Iran,” she told Irish media last week, adding that people are also angry about the “ill-treatment of the Palestinian people by his closest allies in Israel.”
In a follow-up statement to TIME, Cosgrove states that “protecting a serving U.S. President is a serious responsibility, and An Garda Síochána [Ireland's police force] must have the resources necessary to do that safely.”
“We should also be very clear that people have every right to peacefully protest President Trump’s visit. We expect there will be significant protests and many Labour Party members and elected representatives will be joining them,” she tells TIME. "Many people in Ireland have profound and legitimate objections to his Administration’s actions and policies, to put it mildly, and they have every right to make those views heard."
An Garda Síochána told TIME the force does not comment or speculate on operational matters.
Amid much discussion over the trip and the expected protests, here’s what we know so far.
Planning is already underway for various protests, with one of the most significant demonstrations set to take place in Ireland's capital, Dublin.
The protest is scheduled to start on Sept. 12 at the Garden of Remembrance, a public memorial to those who "gave their lives in the cause of Irish freedom."
Sara O’Rourke of the Irish Neutrality League told the Irish Times that the “protest will be under the banner of no welcome for Trump.”
Protest organizers said they expect a “big” but “safe event,” which they described as a “family-friendly, peaceful protest.”
Paul Murphy of the People Before Profit-Solidarity party said he is expecting a “massive protest” which will have “a broad coalition with a basic theme of no welcome for Trump.”
Another demonstration is planned for Shannon in the west of Ireland. (Trump arrived at Shannon Airport during his presidential visit to Ireland in 2019.) Shannon Airport is used by the U.S. military as a transit, refueling, and logistical hub.
An additional protest is also expected to unfold nearby Trump’s golf course in Doonbeg, which is around 60km from Shannon. A social media post from organizers involved in the planned protests raised issue with some of the Trump Administration’s actions, including the President’s repeated threats to annex Greenland.
Trump's visit has also drawn backlash from some Irish lawmakers.
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, a Labour Party lawmaker and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Dublin, released a video on Aug. 3, in which he stated: “Donald Trump is not welcome in Dublin.”
The lawmaker referenced the war in Iran and the U.S.' fractured relationship with the European Union as being among his reasons for opposing the trip.
Ó Ríordáin tells TIME the idea that Ireland would “roll out the red carpet and treat [Trump] with the sort of celebrity and respect that we have done to others in the past, to my mind, makes absolutely no sense.”
“I do believe there's a groundswell of people who don't want this visit, who don't want him here, who would rather he wasn't coming,” he says of the planned protests. “They certainly will make their views known if and when he does arrive.”
Trump’s last official visit to Ireland as President in 2019 drew thousands of protesters to Dublin’s streets. The Trump “baby blimp,” which had previously featured in anti-Trump protests in London, also made a notable appearance.
Trump’s expected itinerary in Ireland
Trump is set to visit Ireland from Sept. 12 to 13, a White House official told TIME.
Although that would mean missing the first two days of the Irish Open, it allows the President to remain in the U.S. for the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Once in Ireland, the President is set to attend an event with embassy personnel and business officials, ahead of attending the Irish Open at Trump Doonbeg.
Details of the trip are still being finalized, however Irish media reports suggest Trump is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Irish Taoiseach [Prime Minister] Micheál Martin at Farmleigh House, the Taoiseach’s official guest residence. Trump is also expected to turn the sod—the ceremonial first digging of earth to mark the start of construction—on the new U.S. Embassy in Ballsbridge, south Dublin, according to BBC NI.
Trump may also visit Irish President Catherine Connolly at her official residence, Áras an Uachtaráin, in Phoenix Park, although such a meeting has yet to be confirmed.
Martin and Trump have established a friendly relationship, with the Irish Taoiseach attending St. Patrick’s Day celebrations at the White House.
The St. Patrick’s Day visit marks a respected tradition when the Irish leader brings a bowl of shamrocks to the U.S. President as both reflect on the importance of Irish-American relations and history.
“We have tremendous business relationships with Ireland and that will only get stronger, and the relationship we have personally, and every other way, is very very strong,” Trump said in March 2025.
However, there have been some tense moments, most notably when Martin defended former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer while seated alongside Trump in the Oval Office in March this year.
Relations between the U.S. and U.K. had deteriorated as Trump repeatedly criticized Starmer for refusing to get actively involved in the Iran war.
“I’m disappointed with Keir. I like him. I think he’s a nice man, but I’m disappointed,” Trump said at the time, repeating his criticism that, “Keir is not Winston Churchill.”
Martin defended Starmer, praising the then-Prime Minister for helping to “reset” the Irish-British relationship.
“I just want to put that on the record,” Martin told Trump. “I do believe that he's a very earnest, sound person, who I think you have a capacity to get on with, and you've got on with him before.”
Martin has also taken a different position from Trump on other key issues. In April 2025, following Trump’s levies, most of which were later struck down by the Supreme Court, Martin said “the imposition of tariffs is bad for the world economy.”
Martin and Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. on March 17, 2026. —Yuri Gripas––Getty ImagesTrump’s first visit since Catherine Connolly became President
This will be Trump’s first presidential visit to Ireland since Catherine Connolly was elected President in October 2025.
Connolly previously expressed “grave concern” over the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, warning against “the normalization of war” and calling for a return to diplomacy, international law, and the U.N. Charter.
She repeated that message during her St. Patrick’s Day address.
When asked about the Irish President’s concerns, Trump appeared not to know who Connolly was and misgendered her in his response.
“He’s lucky I exist, that’s all I can say,” Trump said in the Oval Office on March 17.
The pair have significant ideological differences, with Connolly largely viewed as a left-wing President.
Connolly pledged “to be a catalyst for change, resist militarization, and work toward a United Ireland—potentially putting her at odds with Ireland’s own government, and its allies in Europe and America,” Irish political correspondent Gavan Reilly wrote in a November 2025 article for TIME.
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