Trump To Visit Ireland For Irish Open At His Doonbeg Golf Course

US President Donald Trump will visit Ireland on September 12 and 13 to attend the Amgen Irish Open at his Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, County Clare, adding a high profile presidential visit to one of the country's biggest sporting events.

A White House official confirmed the trip to The Associated Press, saying Trump will attend the golf tournament and is also expected to take part in engagements involving US embassy staff and business officials. The visit comes as the president continues to combine official travel with appearances at golf properties owned by his family business.

The Amgen Irish Open runs from September 10 to 13, marking the first time the DP World Tour event will be staged at Trump's Doonbeg resort. The tournament will feature a strong international field, including defending champion Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Robert MacIntyre, Francesco Molinari and Sepp Straka. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is also among the confirmed players.

McIlroy will return to defend the title he won in dramatic fashion last year. Lowry, meanwhile, is set to make his 18th consecutive Irish Open appearance, adding to the tournament's appeal for Irish golf fans.

The event is expected to draw tens of thousands of spectators, with Irish tourism authorities describing it as one of the country's major golf events. Accommodation demand has surged across County Clare and surrounding areas, while security preparations are being intensified because of Trump's presence.

Trump's visit is also attracting scrutiny because the tournament is being held at a property owned by his business, raising renewed questions about the overlap between presidential duties and his family's commercial interests. Trump transferred day to day management of the Trump Organization to his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, when he returned to the White House, but his continued visits to properties bearing his name have remained politically contentious.

The Ireland trip follows Trump's planned appearance at a Republican national convention in Dallas on September 9 and 10, an unusual event intended to rally the party ahead of the November midterm elections. He will then travel to Ireland for the golf tournament.

Trump has frequently visited golf properties he owns in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia. Last year, he also made a five day trip to Scotland, where he played golf at Turnberry and inaugurated another Trump course in Aberdeenshire. During that trip, he held discussions on trade with British and European leaders while the White House described the journey as official business rather than a vacation.

The Ireland visit is likely to generate a major security operation involving Irish police and the US Secret Service. Officials are preparing for the unusual combination of a presidential visit, a major international sporting event and potentially large demonstrations. Reports indicate that the tournament itself could attract around 80,000 spectators, placing additional pressure on transport, accommodation and policing in the region.

Trump's decision to attend also carries an element of irony. He previously criticised former President Barack Obama for travelling long distances to play golf while in office, questioning the environmental impact of presidential golf trips. Trump has similarly insisted that he does not take conventional vacations, once writing in his 2004 book Think Like a Billionaire: “Don't take vacations. What's the point?”