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Trump with his son Eric Trump (second left) watching the Irish Open Alamy
Irish Open
He came, he saw, he watched the golf: Trump keeping low profile in Doonbeg
Trump, an avid golf fan, made a whistle-stop political tour before heading for Clare.
DONALD TRUMP’S ARRIVAL at his Doonbeg golf course today was done in spectacular fashion, with Irish Open attendees treated to an Air Force One fly-by shortly before 2pm ahead of the US President touching down.
Hundreds of golf fans turned their back on the game as they waited for Trump’s Marine One helicopter to land on the helipad a short distance from where Shane Lowry was putting.
Lowry played on as Trump’s helicopter flew into view, an hour after the Air Force One flyby.
Just before Trump’s helicopter landed, two military Chinooks, one carrying the US press pool, and a second USA-emblazoned helicopter also touched down at the golf resort.
Trump was quickly whisked into the waiting motorcade, which brought him and his entourage up to the hotel, without the waiting spectators catching even a glimpse of the president.
From there, he and his two sons, Eric and Donald Jnr, made their way to a designated private viewing platform for the US president at the 18th green, where the president spent the rest of the afternoon, engrossed in the golf.
Just outside the viewing platform, an armoured, bulletproof golf buggy sat waiting to transport the US president around the course.
Speaking to The Journal, one of the DP World Tour organisers said that they had “never seen anything” like the security operation that was underway at the five-star resort.
But despite the heavy security and flashy entrance, the US president’s presence at the golf tournament was relatively low-key, with little fanfare from spectators who largely seemed to take the president and his entourage in their stride.
While Irish media waited outside the entrance to the private viewing platform, hoping to get a question or two to Trump, young boys were also lingering, but their focus was on collecting autographs, gloves and golf balls from the pro-players, not seeing the US president.
A half-hour drive away in Doonbeg village, a small group of peaceful protesters had gathered for the day to voice their disapproval of the US president’s visit.
Nearby Shannon Airport, peaceful protesters also gathered, many of them with Palestinian flags.
In Doonbeg on Saturday evening, the mood was jovial. People spilt out from the pubs, and music played over loudspeakers from the Doonbeg Fáilte Fest, which was organised to coincide with the Irish Open.
Mixed among festival-goers was a small group of Trump protesters, carrying placards with phrases like “Stop Supporting Genocide”, “Gaza is not 4 sale” and “No US Planes No War”.
By the time The Journal spoke to them on the village’s main street at around 7.30pm, they were tired and packing up for the day, but still good-tempered despite the somewhat hostile response from some of the crowd.
As The Journal spoke to one Trump protest, a man in a car passing by rolled down his window and shouted: “Up Trump!”
A few moments later, a group of young men walking past with their takeaway chips jeered at the protesters as one of the young men filmed them.
One of the protesters, Sarah Clancy, said the group was unperturbed: the general response across the day had been positive.
Clancy, a community worker in Clare, said there were a lot of reasons she was protesting Trump’s visit, but top of the list was the situations in Gaza and Lebanon.
“We are in a village here of about 200 people, and Israel, supported by Trump, has cleared nearly 100 villages across Lebanon… Places just like this, where people have made their lives for decades,” Clancy said.
“If it were me, I would like to think people would come out and support me, and not be rolling out the red carpet [for Donald Trump].”
She added: “The place I would like to see him welcomed is the International Criminal Court.
Melina Sharp, another protester, said she has gone to numerous protests at Shannon Airport against Donald Trump.
Like Clancy, a key focus for her was the genocide in Gaza and Israel and the US’s war on Iran.
“That guy [Trump] is financing and pushing genocides and illegal wars. He should have no place in Ireland,” Sharp said.
Meanwhile, back at the Trump International Hotel, Rory McIlroy confirmed to reporters that he would be having dinner with the US President, who was later spotted walking through the hotel’s packed residents’ bar as punters sang Fields of Athenry, Grace and Sweet Caroline.
The US President appeared relaxed across the afternoon in Doonbeg, almost laser-focused on the golf.
So much so that you would almost forget that earlier in the day he sparked a diplomatic row after he supported a united Ireland during a press conference with Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
In Dublin, Irish political leaders will have exhaled a sigh of relief that the political element of Trump’s visit is now down, and those comments were the most consequential element of the trip.
Meanwhile, down in Doonbeg, whether the US president will keep as low a profile on the final day of the Irish Open tomorrow as he did today is anyone’s guess.
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