US PRESIDENT, Donald Trump is to visit West Clare next month when his Doonbeg resort hosts The Amgen Irish Open.
A two-day visit is on the cards with a hefty security presence to be mounted in Doonbeg. Trump is expected to fly into Ireland on September 12th and will most likely land at Shannon Airport.
Events in Dublin are also to be attended by the US President, which will likely a meeting with An Taoiseach Micheál Martin (FF), their first since St Patrick’s Day in the White House.
At this meeting, both Trump and the Taoiseach discussed the potential of an Irish Open visit. All US presidents in recent decades have visited Ireland while in office, with former US president Joe Biden the last to arrive in April 2023.
Trump will be in America on September 11th for the twenty fifth annual commemoration of the 9/11 terrorist attacks before his trip to Ireland. He is expected to be in attendance for the finale of the Amgen Irish Open in Trump International Golf Links Ireland on September 13th.
At the beginning of July, President Trump outlined his intention to attend The Irish Open in Doonbeg. “I think I’m going to come over, and I’m going to see it. We’re going to watch Rory and all the great players. That’ll be something very, very special”, he said on Independence Day.
He last visited the five-star Doonbeg resort in 2023 when he received a warm welcome to West Clare. Trump Doonbeg is the largest employer in West Clare, at high season it employs up to 305 people. Since they acquired the resort in 2014, the Trump family have been commended for the amount of employment they have brought to the locality which has assisted in putting several young residents through college.
General Manager of Trump International Golf Links Ireland, Joe Russell has previously stated that it was always the intention of President Trump to attend The Irish Open. “We do know he wants to come,” he told a media briefing this summer. “One thing I can say to you is that since the Trump Organisation has taken over this resort, it’s been an upward trend, the people in the community who are benefitting, both socially and economically and every other way from the resort, there’s a very positive vibe here towards the Trump Organisation, and that’s as much as we can control”.
Championship Director with the DP World Tour, Paul Gillmon acknowledged the attendance of Trump in Doonbeg would cause disruptions. “We’ve planned for all scenarios. If he comes, which is a big if, Joe and his team have been working with the local authorities. It will be disruptive but that goes with the territory. We will just wait and see how things evolve”.
