Sideshow. Rosie’s bid for Irish citizenship.

The question isn’t whether Ireland “wants” her or not. It’s now whether Trump can yank her U.S. citizenship.

Here’s how Ireland landed in the middle of the row between Rosie O’Donnell and the President of the United States.

She lives there now and is “seeking” Irish citizenship, which is not the same thing as looking for one of those fairies or spirits who live in the West of Ireland. Becoming an Irish citizen is a rigorous process that keeps hundreds of Irishmen and Irishwomen employed near Dublin inspecting documents from America.

Becoming a citizen of Ireland when you weren’t born there but have grandparents who were takes time, money ($400 approximately), and at least one relative willing to track down the paperwork (Priceless). And patience.

Why is this pissing match still news? Because President Trump last weekend responded to O’Donnell’s latest criticism of his administration by threatening to revoke her U.S. citizenship.

“She is a Threat to Humanity, and should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want her.” Donald Trump re: Rosie O’Donnell

During her brief tenure as one of the co-hosts of The View in 2006 O’Donnell said some things that offended Donald Trump. A war of words custom-made for New York tabloids erupted and hasn’t slackened since.

DOES IRELAND WANT ROSIE O’DONNELL?

That’s not the right question. It’s not about “want.” Criteria for granting citizenship to those not born in Ireland is clear: The Department of Foreign Affairs can grant her request for Irish citizenship only if it can be proven that at least one of her four grandparents was born in Ireland. There’s not a lot of wiggle room there.

Anyone following this tawdry back and forth knows that Rosie “discovered” her Irish roots in 2011 when a television show looked into her past. It turns out that on her mom’s side this native New Yorker had a Famine-era great grandfather named Murtaugh. A great grandfather or great grandmother being born in Ireland doesn’t cut it. If it did, there would be thousands more applications from America. That eliminates her maternal ancestors being her meal ticket to Irish citizenship.

What about on her dad’s side?

O’Donnell has written and talked about how her father, Edward Joseph O’Donnell, abused her after her mom Rosemary died when Rosie was ten. She also says her grandfather beat her father. Not a lot is known about this man from County Donegal. But it’s going to be his documents, or his wife’s, that will determine whether citizenship will be granted to O’Donnell. Will the “character” of the man she claims as her link to Ireland be considered?

Since more than 30,000 American citizens apply for dual citizenship in Ireland each year and because she probably didn’t file all those documents until early this year, it could still be a couple of months before we find out if O’Donnell will become a citizen of Ireland. When things go well the waiting time to find out is about eight months. When things don’t go well and additional documents are required, months can turn into years in complicated cases. Example: My father wasn’t born in a hospital in 1919 so there was no Certificate of Live Birth. Getting a note from San Francisco City Hall confirming that he was born at home took a while.

Paper Chase. O’Donnell has had to do a lot of digging to get the documents needed for Irish citizenship. Left - Birth certificate from Co. Donegal. Center - Death certificate from County San Mateo. Right - One of several instructional documents from Ireland. (Documents shown as examples only. These are not O’Donnell’s. If they were she’d be eligible for Irish citizenship.)

CAN PRESIDENT TRUMP REVOKE HER U.S. CITIZENSHIP?

In a word, No.

Which doesn’t mean he won’t threaten to. Many of his MAGA followers are up in arms about the Epstein Files fiasco and he needs to throw them some red meat to remind them he’s their man. The Art of the Distraction. Nothing seems to rally the troops like ripping Rosie.

“Neither the Fourteenth Amendment nor any other provision of the Constitution expressly grants Congress (or any other governmental unit) the power to take away U.S. citizenship once it has been acquired ... the only way a U.S. citizen could lose his citizenship was by his own voluntary renunciation of it.” 1967 SCOTUS ruling.

“Governmental Unit” Trump may not care for precedents established by the Supreme Court of the United States. He never met one he didn’t think could be overturned. But in this case he’s gotten out over his skis by saying it’s within his powers to kick her out.

Rosie O’Donnell has made it cleat that while she intends to remain in Ireland until Trump is no longer President, she has no intention of renouncing her U.S. citizenship. And neither country insists that you can only be the citizen of one sovereign nation.

Right now, the ball is in Ireland’s court. We’d like to think that whether O’Donnell is someday sworn in as a Citizen of Ireland is not a political but a procedural question. As to that threat of revoking her U.S. citizenship, well, with assists from Republican members of Congress and SCOTUS he’s done a lot of things these past six months that well-informed people said he couldn’t do.

DISCLAIMER - Though I hold a leadership position with the Portland Hibernian Society, any opinions given at Gallagher’s Irish Celtic Corner are strictly those of the author and no one else.