
The president's sons Eric Trump and Don Trump Jr have made the rounds of pubs in a small Irish village, pouring pints of Guinness for cheering crowds of locals as they accompany their father on a visit to the area.

Amid a celebratory street party of Irish dancing, Trump's two sons went from pub to pub in Doonbeg on Wednesday, posing for selfies with kids, shaking hands and buying drinks for all the patrons.

'Everywhere we look all we see is American flags with Irish flags. That's a beautiful thing ... It's so nice to see so thank you,' Eric told cheering crowds as he served pints from behind the bar at Tubridy's, one of five pubs the brothers visited in the space of an hour.

'God bless Donald Trump,' was the response from a satisfied customer at one of the stops while another stood behind the pair's car waving a Trump flag as their motorcade returned to the nearby five-star hotel owned by the Trump Organization.

Eric Trump pulls a pint of Smithwick Red Ale at a local pub in Doonbeg village, Ireland on Wednesday

Eric's skills as a barman were called into question when his pint turned out more head than ale

Locals crowded around and cheered as the president's sons poured pints for the locals in Doonbeg

Eric (left) and Don Trump Jr pose with a local during a visit to one of several pubs in Doonbeg

Donald Trump Jr (right) got a cheer in one packed pub when he said: 'This is a lot better than New York City'

Hundreds of people wait to get a glimpse of President Trump's sons Eric and Don Jr, at a pub in Doonbeg in western Ireland

Hundreds of people wait to get a glimpse of President Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr, at a pub in Doonbeg west of Ireland

Unlike the protests that greeted Trump in London this week, there were no inflatable blimps depicting him as a baby or large statues of him sitting on a golden lavatory, trousers around his ankles, when the president visited the tiny Irish village.

Instead Doonbeg's residents decked the streets in American flags and stars and stripes bunting, crediting Trump with securing their livelihoods when in 2014 he bought the nearby golf resort where he will spend the next two nights.

Eric and Don Jr arrived in Doonbeg shortly after 10pm on Wednesday to cheers from locals as they swept up in Range Rovers.

They spoke to several villagers, posed for selfies with children and received even louder cheers after asking 'does Doonbeg love Trump'.

Donald Trump Jr got a cheer in one packed pub when he said: 'This is a lot better than New York City.'

Eric Trump meets locals in the village of Doonbeg in County Clare, on the first day of President Donald Trump's visit to Ireland

Don Jr (center), and Eric (right) make merry behind the bar in Tubridy's Bar in the village of Doonbeg, County Clare

'Everywhere we look all we see is American flags with Irish flags. That's a beautiful thing ... It's so nice to see so thank you,' Eric told cheering crowds as he served pints from behind the bar at Tubridy's

Eric told the crowd: 'We love this place more than anything. So thank you for this hospitality. It's awesome.'

Eric told the crowd: 'We love this place more than anything. So thank you for this hospitality. It's awesome.'

He then offered to buy drinks.

'Don and I want to buy everyone cocktails tonight,' he said.

The young Trump men visited several pubs in the village and even had a go at pouring pints in one.

Speaking from behind the bar, Eric said: 'You guys are so warm to us every single time. You are truly some of the most incredible people in the world and I hope we've made you very very proud and I hope we've made Ireland very proud.'

At Madigan's bar, Eric said: 'So guys, just a little cheers to everyone in Doonbeg, we love you guys so much, thank you for treating us like family. We love everything about Doonbeg, we feel like home here, just great to be with each and every one of you. Thank you for the support guys, thank you.'

Earlier, President Trump was warmly welcomed to Doonbeg where locals waved American flags and some donned the Make America Great Again cap.

Shortly after Trump and his wife Melania touched down at the Doonbeg golf resort, the village erupted into a carnivalesque celebration with ceili music and Irish dancers taking over the main street.

Fr. Joe Haugh (left) presents Eric and Don Jr with a gift in Igoe's Pub in the village of Doonbeg on Wednesday

The Trump sons joke with Fr. Joe Haugh (left) in Igoe's Pub in the village of Doonbeg during a pub crawl there on Wednesday

Donald Trump Jr (left), and Eric Trump pose for selfies with children in Igoe's Pub in Doonbeg, County Clare

Trump is staying a short distance away in his five-star hotel where he landed in his Marine One shortly before 6.30pm on Wednesday.

While the main protest for Trump's Irish visit is planned for Dublin on Thursday, on Wednesday it was the adoring locals in Doonbeg who outnumbered the demonstrators that greeted the U.S. president upon his arrival at Shannon Airport.

'I was absolutely delighted. I got to shake Eric Trump's hand twice,' said Martin Doyle, 28, a barman from neighboring Limerick, draped in an American flag and a Trump sweatshirt.

'There is too much negativity ... In the grand scheme of things, there are a lot of people who wouldn't admit (supporting Trump).'

Local residents arrived in their droves to the small village to mark the visit.

A woman leans out of a window, smartphone in hand, to get a glimpse of President Trump's sons in Doonbeg

Eric Trump meets locals in the village of Doonbeg in Co Clare, on the first day of his father's visit to the Republic of Ireland

Eric and Don Jr, right, pour a pint for locals at a pub in Doonbeg west of Ireland on Wednesday

U.S. President Donald Trump's sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr visit a local pub in Doonbeg village, Ireland

Don Jr shrugs as the barkeep takes over the tap to pour a pint of Guinness at his bar in Doonbeg

A supporter of President Trump is seen during a visit by Trump's sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. to a local pub in Doonbeg

A number of young men could be seen with the American flag draped over their shoulders while American and Irish flags were erected side by side on lampposts to ensure the president was made to feel welcome.

Paul Markham, who lives in nearby Kilmurry McMahon, is a huge Trump supporter.

He enlisted the help of a few neighbors to make an American-inspired top hat, which he hopes will catch the attention of Trump if he visits the village in County Clare.

Speaking in Doonbeg, he said: 'I think it's a great cead mile failte (Irish welcome) for him to Ireland and to this historic village.

'The atmosphere is building up and we are all here to welcome the Trump family, it's a great occasion.

'He's providing employment for west Clare and tourism. We are hoping Donald will come down from his hotel and into the village,' he continued.

'People are waiting anxiously waiting to greet him. He'll get a great welcome.'

Eric Trump pours drinks and meets locals in the village of Doonbeg in Co Clare, where his family owns a hotel and golf course

Donald Trump Jr. looks on as he visits a local pub in Doonbeg village, Ireland on Wednesday

U.S. President Donald Trump's son Eric reacts as he visits a local pub in Doonbeg village, Ireland

Donald Trump Jr. (left) and Eric Trump pour drinks and meet locals in the village of Doonbeg in Co Clare

Donald Trump Jr reacts to the cheers of locals as he leaves one of the five bars the brothers visited in quick succession

Michael Leahy travelled the short distance from Kilrush to welcome the American president.

Wearing the Make America Great Again cap, he said: 'It's such a wonderful thing to have such a significant historical figure coming to this parish.

'I think he's of great significance from a point of view of world peace. He's a very peace-making president.'

However, as common with most of his visits, the controversial figure attracts protesters.

Cork man John Lennon travelled to Doonbeg to express his opposition to the president. He accused Trump of having 'no respect for women'.

He said: 'I am ashamed that the Taoiseach (Leo Varadkar) was at Shannon airport meeting him, a man who has no respect for the truth.'

Trump, arriving in Ireland for the first time as U.S. president on Wednesday, sought to reassure the country that Britain's exit from the European Union would work out fine for its near neighbour.

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One upon arrival at Shannon Airport in Shannon, County Clare, Ireland

Mr Trump met Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and referred to the Irish border as a 'wall' in a conversation about Brexit

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar used a meeting with Trump, who has been a vocal supporter of Brexit, to underline Ireland's concerns over the departure that could affect it more than any other country remaining in the 28-member bloc.

How to keep EU-member Ireland's currently seamless 500-km (350-mile) border with Northern Ireland open after Brexit and ensure it does not jeopardize two decades of peace in the British province is proving the most intractable issue in Britain's tortuous efforts to leave the EU.

Before meeting Varadkar on his arrival at Shannon Airport, Trump said he expected the premier would ask him about Brexit and it would all work out 'very well' for Ireland.

'The way it (the border) works now is good; you want to try and keep it that way and I know that's a big point of contention with respect to Brexit. I'm sure it's going to work out well,' Trump told reporters.

Trump also told Varadkar the problem with 'your wall, your border' was similar to the border situation in the United States, before the Irish prime minister jumped in to say the main thing Dublin wanted to avoid was a border or a wall between both sides.

Some 3,600 people were killed during Northern Ireland's 'Troubles', a sectarian conflict between mainly Protestant unionists, who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, and predominantly Catholic Irish nationalists. The 1998 Good Friday peace deal, which the United States helped broker, largely ended the violence.

Melanis posed with the dancers and musicians during the First couple's brief stop in Shannon on Wednesday

The First Lady was presented with a bouquet of flowers by one of the dancers, before she flew on to Doonbeg, Co Clare

Marine One, carrying US President Donald Trump and First Lady Malania Trump comes in to land at Doonbeg, County Clare, on the first day of their visit to the Republic of Ireland

While Trump on Tuesday promised Britain a 'phenomenal' post-Brexit trade deal, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi used a visit to both sides of the Irish border last month to warn that her fellow lawmakers would not agree any such deal if Brexit ends up undermining peace in Ireland.

After he and Trump met, Varadkar said the president understood Brexit cannot result in the return of a hard border on the island. He added the timing of their meeting was important as Trump would have heard 'a certain story' from pro-Brexit lawmakers during the first stop-off of his European trip in Britain.

'He wants to keep that (the border) open and believes that can be done. We didn't go into any particular details as to how he thinks that can be done but he understands that has to be a shared objective,' Varadkar said.

Trump said in his remarks that Ireland and the United States have a great relationship, 'as good as it's been'.

Varadkar posted a picture on Twitter of a guest book the president and first lady Melania Trump had signed that included the message 'I love your country!' The word 'love' was underlined.

Varadkar, who had opposed extending an invitation to Trump as a cabinet minister before changing his mind when he took over as prime minister in 2017, met Trump on the tarmac and said it was a great pleasure to welcome him to Ireland.