WELL, it’s over, the ordeal in Washington that is.

Micheál Martin survived. Better than that, he emerged unscathed.

Opposition parties criticised him for not correcting Trump, who in his ignorance assumed the Irish president was a man, but Martin didn’t want to dwell on Catherine Connolly’s description of Trump’s war in Iran as “illegal”.

The Social Democrat leader, Holly Cairns, said Martin sat “mute while Trump went on a tirade spreading disinformation to defend his illegal war” and gave the impression the Republic had no issue with Trump’s “flagrant breach of international law”.

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Look, as former Irish ambassador to the US Dan Mulhall said: “This is a TV reality show that Trump has created in the Oval Office and visiting heads of government are extras.”

There was a 30-minute monologue complaining about Keir Starmer and Europe. Breaking into the monologue would have produced a slanging match.

Martin actually managed three uninterrupted minutes, mostly defending Starmer and Europe, which he said was “a very good place to live”.

The day began with breakfast at the vice-president’s residence where JD Vance agreed with........

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