On St. Patrick's Day, COVID Tests Scuttle Meeting

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin came to Washington this week expecting to resume a full schedule of events planned around St. Patrick's Day with the president and other politicians. They all were canceled last year by the COVID-19 outbreak. But the celebrations this year were disrupted, as well, the Hill reports. Martin had to leave the Ireland Funds dinner, also attended by President Biden, before speaking on Wednesday night, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's introduction was cut short by the announcement that Martin had tested positive for the coronavirus, per the Irish Times.

Irish Ambassador Dan Mulhall delivered Martin's speech to the 700 guests for him, per MarketWatch. On Thursday morning, Martin was to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris at her residence. That was already scrapped because her husband, Doug Emhoff, tested positive on Tuesday. Next on the schedule was an Oval Office meeting with Biden and the annual shamrock presentation. That changed, too. "Last year we met virtually across the Atlantic," Martin said. "This year we're meeting virtually across the road. So we’re getting closer." The annual Friends of Ireland Luncheon at the Capitol went on without Martin, with Biden and Pelosi in attendance, though Pelosi had sat next to Martin the night before.

Biden talked about the Ireland-US relationship as well as his family's Irish background. "I was raised in a circumstance where you’d would've thought my whole family—they came in 1844 and 1845, but you'd think they'd all lived in Ireland the last 60 years," he said. The St. Patrick's Day events give Ireland important access to the president, per a Times editorial, that Martin planned to use to bring up issues including immigrant visas. Biden's affection for Ireland has not been overlooked by its leaders. But Martin might be out of luck on spending time with Biden. Under the terms of Ireland's governing coalition agreement, his office will be turned over to another party, Fine Gael, in December, per the Times. (More St. Patrick's Day stories.)