*Blake’s Corner. Photograph: Bob Singer.
EFFORTS to improve the road infrastructure of North Clare needs to be increased in advance of Lahinch staging the Walker Cup in 2026.
Lahinch will become the Irish golf club to host the Walker Cup from September 5th to 6th in 2026 for the 51st match between Britain, Ireland and the United States of America. Portmarnock (1991) and Royal County Down (2007) were previous venues for the biennial encounter.
€2m is to be invested by Lahinch Golf Club in the installation of a new wall-to-wall irrigation system in time for 2026.
Paul McGinley’s decision to bring the 2019 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open to Lahinch showed its capability to host an event of the scale with the electric atmosphere in the coastal village creating a memorable experience.
Fresh from the Government agreeing on Tuesday to accelerate the building of the Adare bypass in order to have the road completed in time for the Ryder Cup in 2027, Cllr Shane Talty (FF) was calling for national support to become evident for the inner relief road in Ennistymon.
A State investment of €150m has been committed to deliver the 7km bypass which will remove unnecessary traffic from Adare. It will also eliminate a major regional congestion point on the national road network.
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of the Rural Development SPC, Cllr Talty stressed the importance of “adequate infrastructure” coming to fruition in North Clare in advance of the Walker Cup.
He praised the “fantastic work” done in promoting the county for the Women’s Irish Open held in Dromoland Castle over the past two years. “We had the Irish Open in Lahinch in 2019 but then COVID came the following spring so I don’t think we were able to fully capitalise as a region but we’ve another chance with the Walker Cup in 2026”.
Talty continued, “the relief road in Ennistymon, it is important that national support remains behind it if it gets passed the judicial process”.
Head of Tourism with Clare County Council, Deirdre O’Shea responded, “we’re very strong on trying to get to the forefront of being in the room on the Walker Cup and the golf”.
