Image source, PA Media

Police have been seen at Trump's golf resort in Doonbeg, County Clare, where the Irish Open golf tournament is being held.

He's travelling there now today to watch the competition, which is taking place until Sunday.

Trump is a keen golfer and Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) Simon Harris told reporters earlier that the president was "very much looking forward" to that portion of the trip.

The Irish police force has described preparations around Trump's visit to Ireland as "one of the biggest security and policing operations" they have ever undertaken.

Only those working at or attending the Irish Open will be allowed to access the Trump International Golf Links and Hotel.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Ireland's Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee says Trump's comments on a united Ireland are "his own opinion".

Speaking to the BBC, McEntee adds that his opinion "doesn't change the the fact that the Irish government's position is clear".

"The UK government position is clear and the Good Friday Friday Agreement is clear.

"Something to this magnitude can only happen where there's consent from the Irish people on the island.

"It's something that that we have to work on and we have to work towards. And really that's what's happening at the moment as well," she says.

McEntee is from Fine Gael, the second largest party in the coalition government.

The party is due in November to present its blueprint on what a united Ireland may look like.

Image source, Reuters

We're now seeing Donald Trump disembarking his plane at Shannon Airport.

After meeting some dignitaries on the tarmac, he got onto the presidential helicopter Marine One.

This next part of the visit is more personal for the keen golfer, who'll be heading to his resort in Doonbeg where the Irish Open is being held.

If follows engagements with Irish officials this morning.

Jessica Lawrence
BBC News NI

Despite Trump's departure from Dublin, the city centre is still feeling his presence.

Thousands of made their way from the Garden of Remembrance and O'Connell Street as they march to the Houses of Oireachtas (Irish parliament).

There are loud drums and chants being sung as the crowd blocks off traffic during the busy afternoon.

Kelly has come with some friends, and dog Evie, to protest Trump’s Irish visit.

“Donald Trump is the disgrace of a human being and he shouldn't be welcomed here by the government,” she says.

Kelly says there are people from all walks of life attending today’s demonstration, which shows just how opposed many people are to the president’s visit.

Like many others here today, Kelly says the president is not welcome.

“And the sad thing is, we know if Donald Trump's gone, there's going to be someone else who will continue that legacy as well.

So, in lieu of expletives, I'll say that.“

Trump's words about a united Ireland could be more than a random commentpublished at 14:19 BST

14:19 BST

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

I would tend to see many things President Trump says at the moment through the prism of the midterm elections for Congress, less than two months away.

He’s just spent two days making the most extraordinary set of appeals to voters, including offering $5,000 to every adult American if his Republican Party keeps control of Congress in a highly contested set of races.

So far, polling suggests the Republicans are on track to lose one or even both houses.

The fact he doubled down on his call for a united Ireland in front of the press and mentioned he had talked about it with the taoiseach suggests to me it could have been a little more than just a random, off-the-cuff remark (although, of course, you can never be entirely sure with Donald Trump).

There are estimated to be some 31 million Americans of Irish descent, with concentrations included in some states like Maine and Pennsylvania which have tight, competitive races in the midterms.

His comments are already making the news in the US and many voters with Irish roots will like what he said.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald says the “conversation on Irish unity has shifted” following President Trump’s comments on reunification.

Sinn Féin are the largest opposition party in the Irish parliament and the largest party in government in Northern Ireland.

One of the parties key goals is a united Ireland.

McDonald says the onus is now on Taoiseach Micheál Martin to begin planning for constitutional change.

“I acknowledge President Trump’s comments on the reunification of Ireland,” she says.

“We have secured peace, and as we approach the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement our national journey is now reunification, which is organised, planned and a peaceful transition.”

McDonald also called on Trump to “promote a global agenda for peace” in relation to Palestine and to "stop arming Israel".

Image source, Reuters

Air Force One, carrying President Donald Trump, has just landed at Shannon Airport in County Clare.

A short while ago, it flew over his golf course in Doonbeg.

The president will be heading there shortly to watch the Irish Open tournament.

Enda McClafferty
BBC News NI political editor

Image source, PA Media

Air Force One has completed a fly by over the Trump course in Doonbeg, where the Irish Open is taking place.

Spectators scrambled for photos as the aircraft flew low over the course as it headed for Shannon Airport.

Trump will be heading for Doonbeg after he lands.

Image source, PA Media

While we have already heard from the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland on Trump's united Ireland comments, the second and third largest unionist parties have also had their say.

Leader of the Ulster Unionists (UUP), Jon Burrows, said on X that Trump is "entitled to express his view on the constitutional future of another country".

"But the only people whose decision counts are the people of Northern Ireland."

The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister said: “Northern Ireland is not a pawn in Trump’s fall out with the UK.

"Our constitutional future does not depend on him or any other foreign dignitary.”

Jessica Lawrence
BBC News NI

Among the speakers at today’s protest is Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire.

Speaking before the rally, he says it is a “significant crowd” which “demonstrates the fact that the Irish people clearly reject the policies and the agenda of this US administration" in Gaza and the Middle East.

Despite the US president being nowhere near the scenes of today’s protests, Ó Laoghaire says it is an opportunity to show the world’s media Ireland’s disdain for US foreign policy.

“Whatever opportunities we have, we take them, and also the Irish government - they have an obligation to articulate Irish foreign policy to President Trump."

There is, however, something Sinn Féin and Trump appear to agree on - the prospect of a united Ireland.

One of the key policies of Sinn Féin, the main party of opposition in the Republic of Ireland and the largest party in Northern Ireland's devolved government, is the creation of a united Ireland.

Ó Laoghaire says Trump’s comments about that happening “eventually” are part of a growing view that there is “momentum” towards unity.

“During the course of my work, I meet ambassadors all over the world. It’s one of the first questions they ask me: ‘What are the prospects of Irish unity?’

“The only person who doesn’t seem to take that on board is Micheál Martin, who has set his face against it and, in my view, is being reckless and careless in failing to plan and prepare for constitutional change in a sensible way.”

Jessica Lawrence
BBC News NI

Traffic is at a standstill now on Parnell Square East in Dublin city centre as the protest against President Trump's visit continues.

Image source, Getty Images

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said that Donald Trump is "shooting from the hip as usual, just like he did with Greenland and Canada becoming the 51st state" following his comments on a united Ireland.

"This sort of loose talk about the future of democratic countries is deeply unhelpful and creates unnecessary tension," she writes in a post on X. "Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom."

Badenoch says at a time when separatists are in power in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, "we need a government that will defend the union clearly and confidently".

Jacob Phillips
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

Donald Trump has left Dublin for County Clare after a morning of meetings and events in the Irish capital.

Here's what you've missed if you've just joined us:

• US President Donald Trump said he would love to see the island of Ireland unified, speaking during a meeting with Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin
• His comments prompted a loud gasp among the journalists outside Farmleigh House, writes our correspondent Chris Page. Here is a reminder of the context behind Trump's comments
• In response Gavin Robinson, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland, said the country's "constitutional future will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland, not by commentary in London, Dublin or Washington"
• Earlier, the president arrived in Dublin amid one of the biggest security operations ever implemented by Irish police.
• Surrounded by pomp and ceremony, the president visited the Áras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of the Irish President Catherine Connolly
• In a wide-ranging press conference alongside Martin, Trump told reporters it would be a "great feather in everybody's cap" if Ireland is unified

• As Trump departed to head towards the Irish Open protesters have also been gathering in Dublin's city centre

Image source, Getty Images

Jessica Lawrence
BBC News NI reporting from Dublin

Music is leading the protests here at the Garden of Remembrance just outside Dublin’s O’Connell Street.

Among the protestors here today are Adrian and Tawnie.

Originally from California, Tawnie thinks Trump’s presidency has been “a disgrace and an embarrassment”.

Adrian said Trump "serves the mantra of money makes the world go around".

“He serves a billionaire class, I just don’t like him.”

There’s a common theme amongst signs and protest chants today - the US involvement in the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Ireland is one of the most pro-Palestinian countries in the EU, and many here will be hoping to send a message.

Angela Jennings and Margot Feely said the US president's attitude to the Middle East was "reprehensible".

"He's causing chaos around the world, there's a war going on in Iran that isn't necessary and it's impacting the whole world," Margot says.

Alison says her message to Trump is clear.

"Go home, we don't want you here."

Gabija Gataveckaite
BBC News NI Dublin correspondent

Image source, EPA

Irish President Catherine Connolly has also said that she told US President Donald Trump “the normalisation of war and genocide can never be accepted”.

The two heads of state met at the President’s Drawing Room at Aras an Uachtaráin in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.

Connolly faced pressure from left-wing parties who backed her at last year’s presidential elections to raise Gaza with Trump.

She has been a frequent critic of Trump and the US in the past, particularly on the conflict in the Middle East.

“I conveyed the strong view of the Irish people that the normalisation of war and genocide can never be accepted,” she said in a statement issued after the meeting.

“As a country which has suffered famine, colonisation and the violence of the Troubles, but also the importance of the long and challenging road to peace, I emphasised the unique insight which Irish people can bring to the resolution of conflict.”

Gabija Gataveckaite
BBC News NI Dublin correspondent

Image source, PA

Some interesting detail has emerged from President Trump's first official event this morning, which was with Irish President Catherine Connolly.

During a courtesy call, at the presidential residence, she gave her US counterpart a number of gifts.

They were the St Brigid's Cross; a newly published version of the Navigato Sancti Brendani (Voyage of St Brendan); and a collection of poems by Belfast-born poet Michael Longley.

The cross is a religious symbol marking the beginning of spring, made from rushes. St Brigid is one of Ireland's patron saints.

The Voyage of St Brendan is a medieval text telling of a monk's journey to find the Promised Land of the Saints.

Interestingly, it was flagged to the media that one of the poems in the Longley collection is called Ceasefire.

A lot of Longley's work centred on the Troubles, the decades-long conflict in Northern Ireland.

Connolly was under pressure by left-wing parties who backed her in the presidential campaign last year to express her views to Trump about Gaza, an issue she is very outspoken about.

However, the office of the Irish president is meant to be apolitical so it is a tightrope for any Irish president to walk.

Even though Donald Trump is leaving Dublin, a protest is due to start at 13:00 local time.

Earlier today, Trump told reporters: "I haven't seen any protests," before joking: "It's a friendly protest."

We'll bring you the latest from Dublin city centre as people gather to protest over his two-day visit.

Enda McClafferty
BBC News NI political editor

Former Democratic Unionist Party MP Ian Paisley, a close friend of the Trump family, has downplayed the president’s support for a united Ireland.

President Trump said a united Ireland would be a “great thing” and would be a “feather in everyone’s cap”.

In response, Ian Paisley says: “Everyone is allowed a personal opinion even when it’s wrong."

He adds: “I suspect the president would really like to see Ireland united under the Crown.

“The political, cultural and economic reality is that Northern Ireland and its people are British and wish to remain so.

“Uprooting that stability isn’t in anyone’s interest and would be like telling Alaska it would be great to see it back in the USSR.

“The likelihood of Irish unification is as likely as Canada becoming the 51st state of the USA.”

Ian Paisley is a long-standing friend of President Trump since the pair first met at a business meeting in New York along with his father.

Donald Trump’s son Eric has also visited the Paisleys in Northern Ireland.

Image source, Reuters

Donald Trump's morning in Dublin is over.

He met with Ireland's President Catherine Connolly and Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin.

He then made a speech at the US ambassador's residence.

That's his official duties done for his two-day visit.

So what next for Trump?

There's the small matter of the golf.

He will travel to Shannon Airport then onto the Irish Open in Doonbeg, County Clare, which is being held at the hotel resort he owns.

Trump will stay there tomorrow before heading back to the US.

While he'll move onto other issue across the world - his comments on a united Ireland will cause debate and discussion for days to come across the UK and Ireland.

Irish unity comments will be a headache for Irish governmentpublished at 12:36 BST

12:36 BST

Gabija Gataveckaite
BBC News NI Dublin correspondent

The comments on the possibility of a united Ireland will form a headache for the Irish government.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin had in the past emphasised the need for reconciliation and instead spoken about cross-community initiatives like the Irish government’s Shared Island fund, which uses money from the Irish taxpayer to build infrastructure projects across both sides of the border.

Martin is viewed as being not as keen on advancing talks for a border poll.

Fine Gael, who is the second biggest party in the Irish government, is due in November to present its blueprint on what a united Ireland may look like.

The typical response from the leaders of other countries on the question of a border poll is typically that it is a decision for the people of Ireland and the UK.

Trump's straightforward comments will cause rumbles in the Irish government that will not be welcomed.