It was only eight years ago when the mayor of New York declared St Patrick’s Day “Gerry Adams Day” – it seems we forgot about that rather quickly.

Bill de Blasio presented Adams with a framed copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic; Leo Varadkar was in the audience, and not much was said about it afterwards (Varadkar was reportedly a little cross about the whole thing, but not enough to say so). The politics of Ireland used to be visible in New York – but on Monday we had proof they no longer do.

On the day before St Patrick’s Day, Zohran Mamdani – Democrat mayor of New York, a figurehead for the new generation of the American left – was asked if he supported a united Ireland. He laughed and equivocated: “I gotta be honest, I haven’t thought enough on that question.” Can you imagine the man who gifted Adams a copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic admitting to his voters that he hadn’t thought much about the question of unification? It would never wash.

The next day, with shamrocks on his lapel and Tricolour sash around his torso, Mamdani prevaricated again: “There’s always more to learn, but I can tell you as someone who believes deeply in the principle of self-determination, that I think that should also be extended to the Irish. I think when it comes........

© The Irish Times