Ireland Finds U.S. Tourists During Pandemic May Be Trouble. But So Is Their Absence

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A street in Dingle, Ireland.

Teri Schultz for NPR

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Teri Schultz for NPR

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Idle horse-drawn carts in Killarney, Ireland.

Teri Schultz for NPR

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Teri Schultz for NPR

Idle horse-drawn carts in Killarney, Ireland.

Teri Schultz for NPR

It’s hard to imagine when that will be, with the coronavirus still raging in much of the U.S. and resurging in most of Europe, including Ireland. While Irish political analyst Daniel Keohane vehemently disagrees with his government’s decision to open the border — «I don’t want someone from Florida or Texas coming near me!» he exclaims — he also finds that incongruent with the official advice that Irish citizens shouldn’t travel abroad.

Keohane thinks the government has been allowing the controversy over a tiny number of American tourists to obscure the real problem. «All politics is local, as Tip O’Neill always said,» he notes, referring to the late Irish-American politician. «Most people are really sticking to the rules, but it is much easier to blame an outsider for breaking the rules than it is to blame locals.»

However, that’s just what government officials were recently forced to do, when they had to admit that the ongoing climb in infections is due to Irish residents, and not visitors, spreading the virus.

• U.S. tourists
• coronavirus pandemic
• COVID-19
• Europe travel
• United States
• tourism
• Ireland