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LAST UPDATE | 21 Apr
FIVE YEARS AGO, Galway – my ancestral and adopted county, whose people have genuinely taken me in since I arrived in 2001 – was denied a trip to New York. My pals from Tuam and I had discussed and planned flying to the Big Apple since our short journey to London to watch the maroon and white play in Ruislip in 2019.
But Covid-19 reared its ugly head and we wound up having to wait until earlier this month for a long anticipated mission to see Galway do battle with a feisty New York squad enjoying its annual day out in the opener of the Connacht Football Championship. We were joined by family and friends from Boston, San Francisco, Toronto and Pennsylvania, with disparate degrees of knowledge of and interest in the GAA, for much more than a football match.
It was, as ever, a celebration of Ireland in the United States and of the Gaelic games that are such an intrinsic element of Irishness. Indeed, it was striking initially to be on a Aer Lingus flight chock full of Galway supporters and subsequently to listen to groups of men, women and children holding forth on what could lie in store for the Tribesmen this summer in Manhattan hostelries and diners as if they were in Taaffes Pub on Shop Street.
Though the New Yorkers, who I was shouting against both as a Bostonian and a Galwegian, fought hard in the first half, Galway pulled ahead and won it handily in the end. The atmosphere in Gaelic Park and throughout the city was extraordinary; it was impossible not to have a blast. Just don’t ask for too many details. It was one of those occasions that we may not entirely remember, yet equally, will never forget.
The Galway-New York clash and the Masters, a golf tournament that truly is a tradition unlike any other, bookended the week or so I was in the country of my birth. They provided a nice respite from the intense, unavoidable focus on the presidency of Donald Trump. Even at this incipient stage, the astonishing pace and undeniable extremism of Trump 2.0 already have casual observers, not to mention those of us who monitor politics religiously, reeling.
For obvious and compelling reasons, the Irish media has covered Trump’s actions, in particular his, to date, “bait and switch” approach to tariffs incessantly. It has dominated the headlines and comprised a sizeable percentage of the substance of the broadcast, print and digital content this relatively well-informed citizenry consumes on a daily basis. And if I had a euro for every time the same question has been posed to me – “What will Trump do next?” – I would be a rich man.
It is exceedingly strange, then, to nearly feel that a period spent in the nation where he actually is in charge was an escape from the most controversial individual on the planet. Of course, Trump’s words and deeds collectively are and will remain the biggest story in the US in his tenure in the White House, and perhaps thereafter. That said, to put it colloquially, he isn’t the only show in town stateside.
Pundits on cable news networks do nightly debate the merits of what has swiftly proved an unprecedented presidency; he is the lead item on national and local news bulletins, and he does feature as a topic wherever regular Americans gather. But there are happenings nationally and regionally that garner at least as much attention in the media and among the population as, for instance, the potential impact of Trump’s tariffs.
Additionally, while outrage is a constant in examinations of Trump’s presidency in Europe, and certainly rampant at large rallies led by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez across the US, it was a struggle to unearth it in New York or Boston, neither a bastion of conservatism. Instead, a blend of indifference and resignation was more prevalent. People are getting on with their lives.
Supremely fascinating to me – primarily because I find analysis centring on revulsion and condemnation, albeit unassailable, distinctly unedifying when uncoupled from political reality, as it often is in Ireland – were the sentiments of Trump voters. Contrary to widespread perception beyond the borders of the US, those I encountered were not dumb, nor ignorant, nor brainwashed by algorithms online.
In fact, what I heard and overheard was typically prefaced by a disclaimer: “A lot of what is going on is crazy and I totally disagree with it, but…” This presumably could refer to any or all of the array of profoundly disturbing things currently unfolding at home and abroad. A Trump backer is not per se a Trump lover.
The commentary following the “but” revolved around three points. First, the US is broken and in need of comprehensive surgery. Second, there may be bumps now. Still, Trump will be better for me and my family financially. Third, in a contest between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, he was the only choice.
The vast majority of us in this part of the world dispute their assessments to varying extents as we witness from afar shocking attacks on colleges and universities, immigrants and the judicial branch of government. Nonetheless, my anecdotal experience that the women and men who went for Trump last November aren’t for moving is borne out by CNN polling, indicating that merely 2% of them would opt for another candidate six months on. Naturally, that might change.
Without wishing to further desecrate a dead horse that has been flogged repeatedly in this space, the opposition has done precious little to bolster its electability. During my stay, just four congressional Democrats had the guts to cross the aisle and endorse a bill requiring proof of citizenship before availing of the sacred right to vote. 208 of their party colleagues committed an act of monumental political stupidity.
A GOP member spoke convincingly for the 83% of Americans (according to Gallup) who concur with this common sense proposition: “This past week and today, all we hear are the Democrats sharing their concerns that rural Americans, women and people of colour are not capable of getting an ID. This is insulting, condescending and an untrue argument. You need an ID for most everything else in daily life.”
The best means of curtailing the worst impulses of President Trump and his lackeys is at the ballot box in the 2026 midterms. Democrats should be ideally situated to succeed, but can they when they are strategically inept and out of touch with Americans on a host of key issues?
Immediately upon returning from the US, it was thrilling to watch Rory McIlroy vanquish the rest of the field and his naysayers to win the Masters, the career Grand Slam and sporting immortality. The glee was shared by golfers and non-golfers alike, who were transfixed by the drama on their screens in every city, town, village and rural area on this island. Happy distractions are hugely welcome in 2025.
Larry Donnelly is a Boston lawyer, a Law Lecturer at the University of Galway and a political columnist with TheJournal.ie.
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