Taoiseach Micheál Martin will come face to face with US president Donald Trump for the annual St Patrick's Day meeting next week, with arguably more riding on the encounter than ever before.
Mr Trump's fiery Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy sent shockwaves around the world, and Mr Martin will have to strike a balance between setting out Ireland's interests and avoiding adversarial scenes.
Many people have called for Mr Martin to sit out the Washington DC visit.
In messages sent to the Taoiseach's Office, seen by BreakingNews.ie after a freedom of information request, members of the public urged Mr Martin to sit out the Washington DC visit.
One email urged Mr Martin to "stand strong taoiseach" and "don't bow down to a dictator, bully and felon".
However, Mr Martin has committed to the trip, unlike Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, who confirmed she would not visit the White House over the US position on Gaza.
Here, we have a look at some of the issues Mr Martin is facing ahead of the visit.
Tariffs
Mr Trump's tariffs will be a key issue that Mr Martin looks to highlight.
The Taoiseach has said that he will tell Mr Trump that tariffs could cause damage to a "small open economy" like Ireland's.
He also said he will highlight the fact that there is a "two-way" nature to the economic relationship between Ireland and the United States.
Ireland is now the sixth largest investor in the US globally with around 120,000 people directly employed by Irish companies across the 50 US states.
According to Enterprise Ireland, client exports to the US in 2023 totalled €5.9 billion.
Mr Martin will undoubtedly be prepared with statistics to underline Ireland's investment in the US.
Ukraine and Gaza
Ireland has been steadfast in its support of Ukraine in terms of accommodating refugees along with non-lethal military aid, while the political and public support for Palestinians is also clear.
These positions put the country directly at odds with the Trump administration, as the US president has increasingly aligned himself with Russia and Israel.
Mr Martin has insisted he will not shy away from bringing up Ireland's support of Ukraine and Gaza.
When pressed on whether he would bring up Ireland's stance on Ukraine and Gaza in the Dáil, Mr Martin told Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald that he would.
Pressed on what exactly he would say to Mr Trump on those two conflicts and “the Palestinian question”, Mr Martin said: “We want a peace settlement that’s durable and sustainable in Ukraine.
“President Trump wants a peace settlement in Ukraine. There are different perspectives on how to arrive at that.”
He added: “Secondly, in terms of Gaza and the Middle East, again, let’s be clear: We want to consolidate the ceasefire and we’ll be very strongly making that point.”
Mr Martin also called for “a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza”.
This will probably the most diplomatically sensitive portion of the meeting if Mr Martin wants to avoid being attacked by president Trump in the manner in which he spoke to Mr Zelenskiy, along with his vice president JD Vance.
Reclaim Doonbeg?
In his meeting with British prime minister Keir Starmer, Mr Trump mistakenly claimed his golf resort in Doonbeg, Co Clare was part of the United Kingdom.
While this is unlikely to be a concern for Mr Martin, it does pose the question of how he will respond to falsehoods from Mr Trump.
It would be disrespectful to make that claim about most world leaders, but Mr Trump rarely goes without a few exaggerations, or blatant lies, in speeches and meetings.
Mr Starmer chose not to push back when Mr Trump asked if the UK could challenge Russia without American support, simply smiling and changing the subject.
This may be the favourable route for Mr Martin, however, it will be more difficult if Mr Trump brings out the 'alternative facts' when it comes to Gaza and Ukraine.
During his recent meeting with Mr Trump, French president Emmanuel Macron was successful with his approach.
This high-risk, high-reward approach may be something Mr Martin looks to avoid.
Mr Marcon chose to interrupt Mr Trump as they took questions from reporters.
Mr Trump had said European countries were "loaning" money to Ukraine. "They get their money back," he added.
Mr Macron quickly placed his hand on Trump's arm and said that Europe's Ukraine funding took the form of loans, guarantees and grants, and included "real money".
Tips from Starmer?
The Taoiseach and UK prime minister Keir Starmer had a positive meeting at the UK-Ireland summit in Liverpool on Thursday.
In private, the topic of Mr Trump undoubtedly came up.
Mr Starmer faced a similarly difficult trip to Washington two weeks ago, where he hit all the right notes.
Mr Starmer presented Mr Trump with an invite from Britain's King Charles for a second UK state visit, which Mr Trump was visibly pleased with.
The prime minister left with positive talk of a US-UK trade deal, something which seemed impossible during the Biden administration.
Mr Martin may well bring up the aforementioned Doonbeg resort as a potential venue for Mr Trump's next visit to Ireland.
However, a lot has changed since Mr Starmer's visit and he may not even be in Mr Trump's good graces anymore as he has reiterated UK support for Ukraine.
Mr Martin will have to do so, and again, Ukraine and Gaza look like the key points for next week's meeting.
