Free Republic

In 2017, Varadkar became the first gay prime minister of the once-staunchly Catholic country and the youngest person to hold the office. He returned to the premiership in 2022 under a rotation arrangement struck between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, the two largest parties in a three-party coalition with the smaller Green Party. Varadkar's government has overseen a sharp economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic but has struggled to tackle a decade-long housing crisis and more recently the pressure on services from record numbers of asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees. He also suffered an embarrassing referendum defeat this month when...

President Joe Biden is set to host Ireland’s prime minister on Friday, after the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled the longstanding St. Patrick’s Day meetup two years in a row. Leo Varadkar, known as the taoiseach, and his partner, Matthew Barrett, will attend a breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff. Then they will head to the U.S. Capitol for a lunch with congressional leaders and Biden before the two leaders convene. […] Biden, who often speaks of his Irish heritage and is fond of quoting Irish poets, declared March Irish-American heritage month. The White House is even...

As an Irishman, I’m embarrassed at the treatment of the President of the United States on his recent visit to Ireland. His shabby reception in Ireland contrasts sharply with the red carpet treatment in London. Media reports that the Leo Varadkar (the Irish Prime Minister/Taoiseach) refused to meet at the Trump resort at Doonbeg. The hostile media is having a field day with this. Vox reported President Trump will meet the Irish prime minister -- at the airport. Trump reportedly wanted to go to his golf course in Ireland. The Irish government said no. So they’re meeting at the airport...