*Photograph: Carefree Photography
HOSTING The Irish Open is estimated to bring a €10m spin-off for Doonbeg and West Clare.
Crowds of over 80,000 will attend the Amgen Irish Open across four days this week at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Doonbeg Ireland.
A stellar field of golfers has been assembled which will heighten the crowds that flock to the Doonbeg fairways.
Owner of McInerney’s Shop in Doonbeg and former CEO of Ennis Chamber, Rita McInerney outlined that the village is braced for an economic impact to the tune of €10m. “Speaking to people in the economic industry, the figure I’m hearing that it is worth €10m to the local economy, that would be a minimum, if you think of the accommodation, people coming to the event, the spend on fuel, hospitality, food and drink and then the suppliers going into our businesses and into the Amgen Irish Open and Doonbeg Golf Club, those suppliers are with the golf club all year round and it is an extra boost for them with their relationship such as fish, meat, vegetables, security, linen, laundry, stationary, every element of running a hotel will be amplified for these couple of weeks”.
Beyond the four days of the Irish Open, Doonbeg will remain in high demand, Rita explained. “They are predicting a very busy two weeks after the Irish Open because people are saying it will be at its most pristine, it will have a tournament played this week but the course itself is in pristine condition and there is a lot of interest in playing it immediately afterwards, we expect the whole month of September to be busy around Doonbeg because the relationship with the hotel, golf club and community has been very strong for the past twenty five years, they have been part of our business community and anyone who goes to Doonbeg to stay are encouraged to go out to West Clare, they have a concierge directing them to Loop Head Lighthouse, Vandeleur Walled Gardens, Scattery Island, the Kilkee Cliffs, they keep them moving around and encourage them to meet the locals, visit the pubs and restaurants, it is not an enclosed resort and never has been. The two weeks after will be worth as much again in terms of being very busy, it is also the people that work there, we have the workers in and out of our local business”.
Within the shop, ponchos have been restocked while sales of Doonbeg football club umbrellas have soared, Rita admitted. “I’ve taken out the ponchos, we have the ponchos on one side of the shop and the ice cream on the other, we’re selling Doonbeg football club branded umbrellas which have been very popular, they are golf umbrellas so people might get to use them at other times and this week might keep good”.
Across the hospitality businesses in Doonbeg, marquees have been added to cater for the crowds. “Pubs and restaurants have added on marquees to cater for the weather, it would be lovely to have everyone sitting outside but that may not be possible, all of the pubs and restaurants have invested in marquees, the shops and cafes are stocking up on what we normally sell, adding on a few bits here and there to make it easier for people. We want to show Doonbeg as it is but at its best, we’re not making up something that isn’t part of it. We’re all pulling together on that. It is a bit of an unknown so it’s hard to gauge what the demand will be for what and at what times of the day, we’re working on that to make sure we are as prepared as we can be”.
There have been instances of accommodation providers overcharging in the locality, she said while urging people to shop around. “There’s plenty of accommodation available. I will tell people to shop around because I don’t think the prices that some people are looking for are fair, you would expect to get a high-season price for your property and people should be looking for that but it shouldn’t go beyond that, they should get a decent rate for this week, we want people to have a good experience and to get good value, accommodation for big events can be at a premium but as long as it is not over the premium then that is fine”.
Ensuring the village of Doonbeg benefits from hosting the golf has been a big focus within the locality, Rita said. “We’ve worked very hard with Clare County Council and Amgen Irish Open to ensure there is local parking, the local landowners have been amazing. If we knew we were going to have the summer we’ve had then we might have been able to pick a different location for the Park and Ride, the reality was we had a very bad winter, the Amgen people were very nervous, we don’t have the best land in some parts of West Clare, we’ve plenty of good land but not everywhere, they were very conscious of having the park and ride on solid ground, they have worked very hard, we’ve plenty of fields around the village that are very dry now, if we knew that then we would have pushed for the park and ride to be within walking distance of the village, the park and ride for Lahinch wasn’t within walking distance of the village but the course was. We had a body of work to do secure parking in the village and we did, we’ve a massive parking area for cars and campervans, completely free for campervans on the Kilrush Rd, the Council have made it very safe to walk and access it from the village of Doonbeg, it will be well lit and signposted, we’re working on that. We’ve lots of taxis available locally so there’s plenty availability to get in and out, we’ve a contingency plan for heavy rain, if things become unwieldy from local parking and accessing the village we will put extra services in place to keep people dry and warm”.
As Doonbeg prepares for the Irish Open to tee off, Rita said there is a great sense of pride in the village. “It is testament to the work that went on thirty years ago as a local community to get the Doonbeg Golf Club project off the ground in conjunction with Shannon Development and EU funding and the vision of a group of people in Doonbeg, the work that has gone on with Landmark National through Greg Norman in the early days designing the course, CLR Design who designed the hotel and cottages. I keep reflecting about the guys working on the course, a lot of them are there twenty years, they have nurtured and nursed that course to what it is today, being worthy of an Irish Open and with the fourth owners, Trump International what they have invested, they have put their money where their mouth is, they invested in the course and the hotel.
“It is credit to people working in the hotel that have created that sense of hospitality and welcome that is in the hotel, that the members love and have held on to for twenty years, we’ve a lot of long-term members. We’re very proud of what Doonbeg has started and delighted with how successful it has gone in creating this opportunity for West Clare in having the Irish Open, bringing the eyes of the country and the world on West Clare, particularly after the Walker Cup to show what Doonbeg and West Clare has to offer. We want to play our part in that and by doing that we’ve come together as a community, we have Fáilte Fest running which is supported by Clare County Council, there will be entertainment, music and things happening over the weekend, everybody is welcome to come, there’s free events on over the weekend and a showcase where local producers, artists and food makers can showcase their wears which was supported by Clare County Council’s tourism office and it is free for those to exhibit and for people to see, that is an opportunity to sell our wears to the people coming to the Amgen Irish Open but also people in West Clare. If you’re coming that is great, we hope you stay around and enjoy the hospitality of West Clare but if you are local and within driving distance and you want to soak up the atmosphere you are very welcome and there is no restrictions on people accessing Doonbeg village any time during the week, towards the weekend there may be detours but you can get to Doonbeg no problem”.
