Tensions over Israel-Hamas war loom over Irish Taoiseach’s usually jovial annual visit to White House

St. Patrick’s Day at the White House is ordinarily a moment for celebration, with the fountains dyed green and a crystal bowl of shamrocks exchanged as a symbol of friendly ties between the United States and Ireland.

St. Patrick’s Day at the White House is ordinarily a moment for celebration, with the fountains dyed green and a crystal bowl of shamrocks exchanged as a symbol of friendly ties between the United States and Ireland. There will still be shamrocks this year, but Israel’s war in Gaza is lending a darker backdrop to the occasion. President Joe Biden is welcoming a delegation of Irish leaders under pressure from their constituents — Ireland is a place where support for the Palestinian cause runs deep, informed by what many regard as shared history — to make a strong case for bringing about a permanent ceasefire. Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s Taoiseach or prime minister, has vowed to represent widely held Irish sympathies for Palestinians when he meets with Biden in the Oval Office. While he rebuffed calls by some Irish politicians to boycott the annual White House stop, he has made plain the Gaza war lends fresh urgency to this year’s talks. “You know my view that we need to have a ceasefire as soon as possible, to get food and medicine in, hostages out, and we need to talk about how we can make that happen,” Varadkar said in the Oval Office, adding it was his view that a two-state solution was the only path to lasting peace and security in the Middle East. Biden said he agreed on both points. Meeting over breakfast earlier Friday morning with Vice President Kamala Harris, Varadkar said the humanitarian crisis in Gaza “will haunt us all for years to come.” He said the Irish “know how quickly atrocities could lead to calls for vengeance, creating new cycles of hatred and bitterness.” And he praised Harris’s forceful recent calls for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, which he said “showed great courage.”