Trump says a unified Ireland would be ‘fantastic’ during Irish visit

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham maintains that a poll is ‘off the table’ as there isn’t enough popular support for Ireland" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="1853" data-entity-type="location">Northern Ireland to leave the UK.United States President Donald Trump has said that a unified Ireland would be “fantastic”, in remarks made during a visit to Dublin that were not welcomed by government ministers in London.Trump’s comments on Saturday came weeks after British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said a referendum on Ireland" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="1853" data-entity-type="location">Northern Ireland leaving the United Kingdom was “off the table”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Which countries banned goods from settlements but trade with Israel?list 2 of 3UK, France among 12 states backing sanctions on illegal Israeli settlementslist 3 of 3EU remains divided over trade sanctions on illegal Israeli settlementsend of list“Well, I don’t want to cause any problems, but I will tell you, I’d love to see it unified,” Trump told reporters, while sitting next to Ireland’s Prime Minister, Micheal Martin.“It’s going to happen eventually … I think it would be a fantastic thing,” he said.“Now the UK will have something to say about it … but I think it would be a great thing,” he added.Martin declined to respond to reporters’ questions to comment on the US president’s remarks.Following Trump’s comments, a spokesperson for Burnham said his position on Irish unification remained unchanged.Responding to questions from members of parliament on Wednesday about a potential poll in Ireland" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="1853" data-entity-type="location">Northern Ireland, Burnham said: “I am not aware that there is majority public support for another referendum, and until that changes, there will not be one”.Donald Trump is welcomed by Ireland’s President Catherine Connolly at her official residence in Dublin, September 12, 2026 [Kin Cheung/AP]Under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement (also known as the Belfast Agreement), a referendum on leaving the UK can be held only at the discretion of the British government.The accord ended three decades of violence known as The Troubles. The sectarian conflict involved mostly Catholic nationalist paramilitaries seeking a united Ireland, mostly Protestant unionist paramilitaries wanting to remain part of the UK, and British troops.