Catherine Connolly used her first St Patrick’s Day message to celebrate migrants and warn against the “normalisation of war” ahead of Irish premier Micheal Martin’s meeting with Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday. A week ago she criticised the “deliberate assaults on international law” in the Middle East and said the UN charter “cannot be ignored”. In her St Patrick’s Day message on Monday, Ms Connolly said the young man who would become Saint Patrick was trafficked across the Irish Sea from Britain in the fifth century. “The story of Patrick’s life serves as a reminder of the resilience and courage of migrants, the invaluable contributions that they have made, and continue to make, to the countries they now call home, sometimes even in the face of great adversity,” she said. Catherine Connolly wtih Taoiseach Micheal Martin (PA)“As we recall the life of Patrick, we invoke his spirit and acknowledge our shared responsibilities as global citizens.

Source: The Herald March 16, 2026 12:16 UTC