It was, to say the least, a jarring contrast.
Taoiseach Simon Harris was in Washington last week to celebrate a hundred years of diplomatic relations between Ireland and the United States. He did so in part by sitting down with President Joe Biden in the White House.
Not surprisingly, the conversation did not focus entirely on diplomacy. The two also discussed the Middle East. Outside the Oval Office the Middle East was also attracting Irish attention - and deep concern.
Mr. Harris found himself having to condemn comments by a onetime adviser to President Donald Trump who reportedly called on Israel to drop napalm on Irish UN peacekeeping troops in southern Lebanon.
Matthew Brodsky, who served in the Trump White House, said on social media that the IDF should be carpet bombing Irish positions, this in a post separate to his saying that Israel should napalm the Irish peacekeepers.
Mr. Harris said by way of response: "Isn't that just the most disgusting thing you can possibly have heard? Our peacekeepers are doing an extraordinary job, and have been doing so for many decades. I think everybody in Ireland is very proud of them. It's been a particularly difficult number of weeks, but particularly this week for those in the outpost. These are very difficult circumstances in which they find themselves..
"It's an understatement of the year to say it's not a pleasant environment for them to find themselves in. It was a moment of significant danger, and that danger persists. The families of our peacekeepers are understandably concerned and stressed - as many of us would be if our loved one was in Lebanon at the moment. So comments like that are entirely inappropriate and pretty despicable."
Mr. Brodsky is a Senior Fellow at the Washington-based think tank, the Gold Institute for International Strategy.
He was also, it turned out, acting as a campaign manager for a Republican congressional candidate in Minnesota. Said candidate was none too pleased with Mr. Brodsky.
According to an Irish Examiner report, Dalia al-Aqidi, a Republican running for election in Minnesota’s 5th congressional district distanced herself from Mr. Brodsky's comment, saying his remarks did not reflect her "campaign, policies, or personal beliefs."
In a subsequent statement Ms. al-Aqidi confirmed that she had "requested and accepted" Matthew Brodsky’s resignation as campaign manager.
"I unequivocally condemn his statement," she said.
She also, according to the Examiner report, extended her "sincerest apologies to the people of Ireland and anyone affected by the actions of a member of my campaign team."
Well, fair play to her.
However, fair play is not exactly what's going on in Lebanon where UN peacekeepers have been fired upon by the Israeli military. Not Irish peacekeepers at time of writing it should be stated.
According to an Irish Times report, there are almost 400 Irish troops stationed on peacekeeping duties in Lebanon and they intend to remain in place even if Israel stages a full-scale invasion over the coming weeks.
"The Defence Forces 124th Infantry Battalion, comprising 379 Defence Forces troops, is responsible for patrolling a large area in the southeast of the county, alongside personnel from Poland and Malta. The area of operations directly borders Israel and has been the site of many incoming air strikes and outgoing rocket and missile attacks in recent months. Although the region is technically under the jurisdiction of the Lebanese army, Hizbullah is the dominant force in the area.
"The Irish battalion headquarters is located in Camp Shamrock, near Bint Jbeil, about 30 minutes’ drive from the border with Israel. It also mans a second smaller base nearby.
"Ireland has been a contributor to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) since its foundation in 1978. During that time, 47 personnel have been killed, the most of any troop-contributing country. The most recent fatality was Pte Seán Rooney, who was killed in an ambush by Hizbullah militants in December 2022."
That the Irish find themselves between a rock and a hard place is something of an understatement. Comments of the kind fired off by Mr. Brodsky doesn't make the situation any easier.
Meanwhile, there was that celebration in Washington last week of a century of diplomacy. It was a celebration that was rudely interrupted by Mr. Brodsky's most undiplomatic words.
Fans of diplomacy must be wondering at the irony of a situation in our troubled world where said diplomacy has to fight like hell just to grab and hold a headline.
