Trump is due to touch down on Saturday, meet Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the Farmleigh Estate in Dublin, and then travel west to Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg for the closing rounds of the Amgen Irish Open.

Around 4,000 personnel are involved in the planning and logistics of the operation across An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, in what a senior Garda official has described as the largest security operation of its type for a multi-day sporting event in Irish history, according to reporting on the visit. Local estimates put the bill at around €20m and expected to rise, well above the €11.3m Garda overtime cost run up during Trump’s 2019 stopover.

How Doonbeg ended up on the DP World Tour

Trump bought the Doonbeg course in February 2014, folding it into his golf portfolio and rebranding it as Trump International Golf Links. The Amgen Irish Open, with a $6m purse and a 138-player field led by defending champion Rory McIlroy, is sanctioned by the DP World Tour as the third event in its ‘Back 9’ run into the season finale.

Irish Times columnist Gavin Cooney has argued that the State’s push to move the tournament to Doonbeg was “a gratuitous, needless decision” that hands prestige and traffic to a resort Trump uses to generate revenue. Cooney’s piece reports Trump’s golf businesses booked $392m in their most recent accounts, of which Doonbeg produced $16.1m. Neither the DP World Tour nor the Trump Organisation has issued a public statement addressing the conflict-of-interest question.

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McIlroy took the diplomatic route when asked about the president’s presence at his pre-tournament press conference.

“If he wants to come and watch the Irish Open, who are we to say no?” the defending champion told reporters.

Taoiseach backs the Garda plan

Speaking at his Fianna Fáil think-in ahead of the trip, Martin said “very significant resources” had been allocated to the operation and that he was satisfied with the Garda commissioner’s plan, according to The Irish Times.

The mood in Doonbeg itself is more welcoming.

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“He is very welcome here and we’re grateful for his investment,” Cllr Michael Shannon, cathaoirleach of West Clare Municipal District, told the Clare Echo.

The final round tees off on Sunday, 13 September, with Trump expected on site for the closing holes before flying out later that day.

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