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Two of Irelands most celebrated links venues are set to share the spotlight in successive weeks as Lahinch hosts the Walker Cup and Doonbeg welcomes the Irish Open, drawing tens of thousands of fans and the worlds top players to County Clare.
Around Lahinch, they have a saying: visitors come for the golf and return for the experience. The phrase captures the spirit of the West Clare village, which has built a reputation for delivering warm hospitality alongside world-class links golf.
That reputation was cemented in 2019 when the village hosted the Irish Open, welcoming twenty thousand fans each day and watching Jon Rahm of Spain lift the trophy after a two-stroke victory. Paul McGinley, who served as host that year, compared Lahinch to everyones favourite auntie, insisting that no-one has a bad word to say about the place.
Now the village is preparing to step back onto the international stage as it gears up to host the Walker Cup, the prestigious biennial amateur tournament contested between Great Britain and Ireland and the United States. Play will begin on Saturday, 5 September, across two days of competition that promise to draw significant attention from the golfing world.
Just under thirty kilometres away, the spotlight will then shift to Doonbeg, where the Trump International Hotel links course is set to stage the Irish Open from Thursday, 10 September. Among the headline names expected to compete are Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, both of whom are likely to attract strong home support. The impending visit of President Donald Trump has added another layer of intrigue, generating a divided reaction across the country.
Festival atmospheres are already building in both communities as organisers work to ensure that the two consecutive weeks of competition become memorable occasions for the entire region. The road to hosting the Walker Cup began for Lahinch back in 2015, when local officials first expressed an interest in bringing the event to West Clare. Because the tournament alternates between venues in the United States and Great Britain and Ireland, opportunities arise only every other year.
The village missed out in 2019 when Royal Liverpool Golf Club was selected, and it watched again in 2023 as the Walker Cup returned to St Andrews to mark the centenary of the event. A subsequent decision to move the Walker Cup away from a clash with the World Amateur Team Championship opened a new vacancy for 2026 once Cypress Point had been appointed as the American hosts for 2025.
Lahinch stepped into the breach, with the formal announcement arriving in 2023. According to the clubs mens captain, John Gleeson, the success of the 2019 Irish Open was instrumental in convincing the R&A to award the tournament to Lahinch. He recalled that the 2019 Irish Open is widely regarded as one of the best in history, citing the presence of the worlds top-ranked player, enthusiastic crowds and a vibrant festival atmosphere.
Following that event, club leaders began exploring what might come next and eventually engaged in detailed discussions with the R&A, including an elaborate video presentation that helped secure the appointment. A similar narrative unfolded at Doonbeg, where management made clear its desire to attract a major professional tournament. The owners portfolio of courses in Scotland had already hosted the International Staysure PGA Seniors Championship and the Nexo Championship during 2025, demonstrating a capacity to stage elite competition.
The success of those events kept Doonbeg firmly in consideration as the company sought to bring a high-profile tournament to Ireland. Confirmation that the Irish Open would head to Doonbeg arrived in September of the previous year, although planning had been advancing well before that point. Representatives from the DP World Tour began visiting the course during the summer to carry out inspections and share their vision for the tournament.
Further discussions took place in the new year as logistical arrangements took shape, with engagement from Clare County Council and An Garda Síochána proving essential. According to Joe Russell, the managing director at the Trump International Hotel, cordial exchanges between the two venues have laid the groundwork for an exciting fortnight.
He estimates that around eighty thousand spectators will descend on Doonbeg, with an entry list currently standing at one hundred and thirty-eight players and a workforce of between twelve hundred and fourteen hundred people, including hotel staff and volunteers, set to support the event. The course has been closed to the public since 24 August to allow final preparations to be completed ahead of the tournament
Lahinch Doonbeg Walker Cup Irish Open Golf
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