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Trump Participates in the Shamrock Bowl Presentation, Mar. 17, 2026

March 17, 2026 · The White House · 0:29:43

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

President Donald Trump hosted Taoiseach Micheál Martin for the Shamrock Bowl presentation at the White House on March 17, 2026, the closing ceremony of the St. Patrick’s Day visit. The President thanked the Irish dancers who had performed at the Capitol earlier in the day, paid tribute to the men and women of the military — “I rebuilt it in my first term and I didn’t know I’d have to use it so much in my second term” — and pointed out the construction under way behind the gold curtain for the new White House ballroom.

Introducing his cabinet to the room, the President put the trade file on the record even on a ceremonial day, telling USTR Jamieson Greer, as he stated it, “we have a $40 billion deficit with Ireland… we got to do something about” it. He then invited Martin up for the presentation itself: “I want to do something having to do with a thing called the Shamrock Bowl.” Martin said he was “profoundly honored to be here celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day at the White House once again.”

Why it matters

The Shamrock Bowl is the ritual center of the Irish visit — the crystal bowl of shamrocks presented since the 1950s — and this year’s ceremony carried the administration’s signature mixture: alliance warmth on the surface, the trade deficit named from the podium. It is recorded on the Foreign Policy & Defense hub.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Participates in the Shamrock Bowl Presentation,” The White House, March 17, 2026 (official upload, embedded above). All figures and characterizations as stated by the President and the Taoiseach at the ceremony.