Council rejects proposal to turn down New York St Patrick's Day invite over Donald Trump

Tipperary County Council has voted overwhelmingly in favour of sending a delegation to New York’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations next month despite a strong objection being raised by a councillor to the visit due to President Donald Trump’s controversial plans for Gaza.

The council’s elected members voted by 33 votes to three at their February meeting in Clonmel on Monday to accept the invitation of the Tipperary N&B Association of New York to send delegates to represent the county at the city’s St Patrick’s Day festivities.

The council’s Cathaoirleach Cllr Declan Burgess from Cashel and CEO Sinead Carr will represent the local authority and county at the celebrations that will include marching with members of the Tipperary N&B Association in the famous St Patrick’s Day Parade on 5th Avenue.

The acceptance of the invitation was passionately debated and put to a vote after Independent Cllr Seamus Morris declared he was not sure the council would be giving out the “right message” if it decided to go out and “play footsie” with the new administration in America at the moment when international justice was under attack.

He said over the last week President Trump had decided to turn Gaza into real estate.

“We as a council should have the gumption to say we are not going over this year,” he said.

He asked the council to bear in mind the Trump administration’s attacks on the International Criminal Court and the  United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

His proposal that the council not send representatives to New York was seconded by Independent Clonmel Cllr Niall Dennehy.
There was a strong push back to his stance from Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and some Independent councillors.

Clonmel FG Cllr John Fitzgerald said he understood the spirit of Cllr Morris’ reasons but described his proposal as “ludicrous” and it “didn't bear thinking about”.

He pointed out that US companies like Boston Scientific, Abbot and Merck employed thousands of people in the county. The US had long been a friend of Ireland and played a significant role in the Northern Ireland Peace Process.

Cllr Morris said he was the first to promote the links between Ireland and America and was involved in a trip to New York in the past. He saw trips in the past where there was no programme of works involved and nothing came out of it.

He claimed the American administration was “riding roughshod” over international justice. And in a reference to Trump’s press conference last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during his visit to Washington, Cllr Morris said they had seen on television Trump standing beside a “war criminal”.

"We are serious people in this country and we need to stand up", he added.

Fine Gael Cllr Tom Acheson said while the current gentleman in the White House might not be to his or a lot of people’s liking, the electorate put him there.

He stressed the importance of keeping the lines of communication open and believed the Council should accept the invitation.
Independent councillors Andy Moloney and Liam Browne and Fianna Fáil Cllr Siobhán Ambrose also spoke in favour of sending a delegation to New York.

Cllr Moloney pointed out that the Council would not be meeting Donald Trump or members of his administration in New York.

They would be meeting ordinary Tipperary people, the members of the Tipperary N&B Association who looked after GAA players from the county when they came to the city.

Cllr Ambrose said she represented the Council in New York for St Patrick’s Day during her term as Cathaoirleach a few years ago and saw how much it meant to Tipperary ex-pats that representatives from their home county visited the city for the celebration.

“They are so grateful that the Cathaoirleach of their home county has come out to New York for St Patrick’s Day. If you were there it would bring tears to your eyes.

“I wouldn’t like to make this trip political because that is not what it is,” she stressed. The Clonmel councillor said the trip involved a packed itinerary of meetings with representatives of bodies like IDA and Enterprise Ireland as well as meeting Tipperary people living in the city.

Sinn Féin Cllr David Dunne, meanwhile, said he wholeheartedly agreed with Cllr Morris’ views but proposed that the Council still send a delegation that would bring with them a “strongly worded” letter from the elected members voicing their opposition to President Trump’s proposal for Gaza.

Workers & Unemployment Action Group Cllr Pat English supported this proposal.

But Council CEO Sinead Carr strongly advised against bringing such a letter as well as refusing the invitation.

“The trip to New York has never been a political trip and should never be a political trip irrespective of who is in government,” she said.

It was a matter for the American people to decide who governs them and they had to respect that.

“The purpose of this trip is to maintain and develop relationships. We should be using every opportunity we have to promote positive opportunities for Tipperary. It’s also a recognition for the people who left this country and went to America.

“I think the (elected) members need to be very careful. There are other ways to express your concerns. These trips are about promoting Tipperary in the best manner. I would advise members not to go down that route because it wouldn’t be productive.”

Cllr Morris responded that he was “torn” on this issue. He understood Tipperary people in New York would be delighted if Tipperary County Council was represented at their St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

“What I wanted to do was create a debate. We are in a very difficult world at the moment. If members decide to go to America I will support them. I appreciate everyone’s comments.”

Cathaoirleach Cllr Declan Burgess said it would be inappropriate to bring the letter proposed by Cllr Dunne as they wouldn’t be engaging with political leaders during this trip.

Fine Gael Cllr Mary Hanna Hourigan appealed to Cllr Morris to withdraw his proposal that the Council not accept the invitation to New York.

She recalled that during the ten years she lived in New York, she was always happy to meet people from Tipperary who visited the city for the St Patrick's Day Parade.

It would be very disappointing if the Council wasn’t represented at the celebrations this year, she added.

The Nenagh councillor, however, didn’t withdraw his proposal.

In view of this, the proposal tabled by Cllr Hourigan and seconded by Cllr John Fitzgerald to accept the Tipperary N&B Association’s invitation was put to a vote.

The 33 councillors who voted in favour included all Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour members and a number of Independents.

The three councillors who voted against were Cllr Morris, Cllr Niall Dennehy and Cllr Pat English.

Cllr Dunne decided not to formally put his letter proposal to the meeting in view of the CEO’s advice.