![\"donald-trump-visit-to-ireland\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789289773_859_.JPEG\")
\n President Catherine Connolly and President Donald Trump at Aras an Uachtarain. PA<\/p>\n
EVERY WEEKEND, OUR political team casts an eye over the events inside and outside Leinster House that have people talking.<\/p>\n
The D\u00e1il is still in recess for the summer, but political parties have been busy at their respective think-ins around the country as they all get ready to go back to school.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a week when the US president stopped by for a visit and with the coalition parties at odds over some of the budget ideas, there were a few contenders for winner and losers to pick from.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, without further ado:\n<\/p>\n
The four winners of the week are\u2026<\/p>\n
\n President Catherine Connolly and President Donald Trump at Aras an Uachtarain. PA<\/p>\n
PA\n<\/p>\n
President Catherine Connolly\u00a0<\/p>\n
During Ireland\u2019s presidential election campaign last year, Connolly was frequently asked whether she would meet with Trump if she were elected and what she would say to him if such a meeting took place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now we know<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n There were sullen faces for both Trump and President Catherine Connolly at \u00c1ras an Uachtar\u00e1in<\/a>\u00a0on Saturday, with many onlookers remarking on how uncomfortable the pair appeared together.<\/p>\n Questions had been mounting all week about what Connolly would say to Trump.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a statement after her sit-down with Trump, Connolly said she \u201cconveyed the strong view of the Irish people that the normalisation of war and genocide can never be accepted\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs a country which has suffered famine, colonisation and the violence of the Troubles, but also the importance of the long and challenging road to peace, I emphasised the unique insight which Irish people can bring to the resolution of conflict,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Farmleigh, Trump was questioned about his conversation with the Irish President.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an unusual move, Trump didn\u2019t answer the question himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n He asked his head of protocol, Monica Crowley, to respond. She said it was a \u201cconstructive\u201d meeting and involved energy.<\/p>\n Trump, asked again if the Middle East conflicts were brought up, only said it was an interesting discussion.<\/p>\n Trump, who was questioned twice on the matter, did not want to go there and did not want to discuss what Connolly had brought up with him.<\/p>\n A win for Connolly for raising the point in a diplomatic fashion, an important point that many that voted for her wanted her to make on their behalf.<\/p>\n She gets extra points for gifting him a book of poetry, in which one of the poems is titled \u2018ceasefire\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alamy\n<\/p>\n S\u00e9amus McGrath<\/p>\n There has been a lot of talk this week about what measures will be included in this year\u2019s budget, which is just over a month away.<\/p>\n One of the topics that has sparked a bit of contention between Fianna F\u00e1il and Fine Gael has been around stamp duty for first-time buyers \u2013 a debate that, this time around, can be traced back to Fianna F\u00e1il TD S\u00e9amus McGrath.\u00a0<\/p>\n McGrath, who is his party\u2019s housing spokesperson, is on our winners\u2019 list this week for kicking off the debate\u00a0back in April<\/a>, when he appealed to his party leader, Miche\u00e1l Martin, to introduce a stamp duty relief for first-time buyers.\u00a0<\/p>\n As things currently stand, buyers must pay stamp duty of 1% of the purchase price on the property they are buying if it is valued at under \u20ac1 million. It rises to 2% on properties worth between \u20ac1 million and \u20ac1.5 million, and 6% on any amount thereafter.\u00a0<\/p>\n First-time buyers were entirely exempt from stamp duty before 8 December 2010, when specific exemptions were abolished to make way for a new, \u201csimplified\u201d system.<\/p>\n Finance Minister and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris has poured cold water on the possibility of any changes to the tax, telling The Journal\u2018s political podcast\u00a0The Candidate last month that it would not be happening<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fast forward to this week, and the T\u00e1naiste doubled down on this position after Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin said he has a \u201cfavourable disposition\u201d towards scrapping stamp duty for first-time buyers.<\/p>\n Who wins out on this one remains to be seen, for now.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alamy\n<\/p>\n Mary McAleese\u00a0<\/p>\n On Tuesday, former president of Ireland Mary McAleese resigned from her position<\/a> as chair of the Integration Committee overseeing the amalgamation of the GAA, the Ladies\u2019 Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) and Camogie Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n In explaining her decision, she said it was because it had become clear the process would not be complete in 2027 as planned.<\/p>\n She did not hold back in her assessment of the management committee, declaring they had blocked any chance of progress and had no vision for the future of Gaelic games.<\/p>\n She also said she was shocked by GAA president Jarlath Burns\u2019 lack of support and that there was an absence of leadership from her experience of dealing with the committee.<\/p>\n Asked if Burns and GAA director general Tom Ryan were supportive, McAleese said: \u201cI think you\u2019d have to ask them, and I\u2019ll leave it at that.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m broken-hearted for the parents of young girls.\u201d<\/p>\n In response, Burns blasted McAleese\u2019s comments as \u201cregrettable\u201d and \u201coffensive\u201d<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n While not strictly a political issue, it became one this week.<\/p>\n McAleese is on our winners\u2019 list for forcing a much-needed conversation and examination of how the GAA is working towards integration.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s not forget, the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association are all organisations in receipt of significant amounts of public money via both core funding and grants.\u00a0<\/p>\n The process around integration has been ongoing for a significant amount of time already, McAleese\u2019s decision to resign from the committee should be a wake-up call that a change in approach is needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n As Labour TD and Oireachtas Sports Committee chairperson Alan Kelly said this week, McAleese\u2019s resignation has to be \u201ca line in the sand\u201d with regard to equality.<\/p>\n \u201cOrdinary people across the GAA, female and male, really need to stand up and hopefully will in relation to this issue, because it\u2019s 2026. We need to treat everyone equally,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/p>\n We\u2019ll keep this one simple.<\/p>\n The Taoiseach and Fianna F\u00e1il leader is on our winners\u2019 list this week for managing to get through his party\u2019s think-in without facing the prospect of a leadership heave<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the first Fianna F\u00e1il think-in in recent years when backbenchers weren\u2019t scheming behind their leader\u2019s back on how to get him out.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s in flying form,\u201d said one minister, who pointed out that the Taoiseach didn\u2019t appear to be a man who thought he was going anywhere soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, this can largely be attributed to the fact that the EU Presidency is acting as a sort of firewall around the Taoiseach, but take the wins when you can get them, right?\u00a0<\/p>\n He gets an additional nod this week for his meeting with US President Donald Trump. The Taoiseach managed to come out unscathed, and he managed to highlight how aid must be allowed get into Gaza more freely.<\/p>\n The two losers of the week are\u2026<\/p>\n Rollingnews.ie\n<\/p>\n Richard Boyd Barrett<\/p>\n People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett made a rather embarrassing confession this week when he admitted that the Social Democrats and Sinn F\u00e9in have not been\u00a0answering his emails about a left-wing alliance.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Poor Richard.\u00a0<\/p>\n To be fair to him, his party has long been banging the drum on a left-wing pact ahead of the next election.\u00a0<\/p>\n But it seems to be falling on deaf ears.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both Sinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Lou McDonald and Green Party leader Roderic O\u2019Gorman were less than enthused this week when asked about the prospect of working more collaboratively with their compatriots on the left.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no alliance right now,\u201d O\u2019Gorman told RT\u00c9\u2019s Morning Ireland on Wednesday.<\/p>\n The unionists<\/p>\n Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n![\"image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789289773_63_.PNG\")
\n Fianna F\u00e1il TD for Cork South Central S\u00e9amus McGrath Alamy<\/p>\n![\"former-ireland-president-mary-mcaleese-and-husband-martin-arrive-to-attend-irelands-president-catherine-connollys-inauguration-ceremony-at-the-castle-in-dublin-tuesday-nov-11-2025-ap-photopete\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789289774_146_.jpeg\")
\n Former President Mary McAleese sparked an important debate about the GAA this week. Alamy<\/p>\n![\"us-president-donald-trump-during-a-meeting-with-taoiseach-micheal-martin-at-farmleigh-house-dublin-during-his-trip-to-the-republic-of-ireland-picture-date-saturday-september-12-2026\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789289774_284_.jpeg\")
\n US President Donald Trump during a meeting with Taoiseach Micheal Martin at Farmleigh House, Dublin. Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n![\"593Press](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789289775_226_.jpeg\")
\n People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett Rollingnews.ie<\/p>\n![\"irelands-prime-minister-micheal-martin-left-and-u-s-president-donald-trump-during-a-meeting-at-farmleigh-house-in-dublin-saturday-sept-12-2026-ap-photojulia-demaree-nikhinson\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789289775_742_.jpeg\")
\n Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n