Beauty queens, corporate titans and Michael Flatley gather for Trump’s meandering address

Is it ever too early in the morning to listen to YMCA? Apparently not.

By the dawn’s early light at Deerfield, the US ambassador’s residence in the Phoenix Park, the Village People’s signature tune belted out as they tested the PA system inside the large marquee set up to receive guests, and eventually, US president Donald Trump . It was half past six in the morning.

Air Force One was inbound across the Atlantic as the invited guests began to troop in, bleary-eyed and flocking towards the embassy’s coffee and pastry table. The lawn at Deerfield was soon crowded with the great and good - plenty of past and present TDs and Senators (Fine Gael had a particularly good attendance), as well as high flyers from the corporate world, with Amazon, Meta, Google, Stripe and many more represented.