The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD, along with Brendan Griffin, the Minister of State with responsibility for Sport and Tourism, today welcomed the news that golf’s major team competition, The Ryder Cup, is returning to Ireland in 2026.
Minister Ross said that Adare Manor in Co Limerick hosting the event would place Ireland centre stage in the world of golf and generate enormous publicity and drive high end tourism spend.
“We last hosted the event in the K Club in Co Kildare in 2006 – the one occasion the prestigious event has been held in Ireland. Its return in 2026 will generate enormous focus on Ireland and the golfing and tourist attractions we have on offer.”
Minister Griffin said: “It’s been a fantastic week for golf in Ireland following Shane Lowry’s heroic win in Portrush. The announcement of the Ryder Cup for Ireland in 2026 is further great news and is a wonderful honour for of all of us in Ireland, North and South. It’s a special honour for the people of Munster, a province steeped in sporting culture, where this marvellous global event will be embraced by the people to make 2026 the greatest ever tournament in the history of the Ryder Cup.”
Speaking about the profile of the event, Minister Ross said: “The event has a large international profile with a potential to be broadcast to 375m homes, 5,000 hours of broadcasting on 50 different channels; 2,000 journalists will attend; thousands of articles about the Ryder Cup were published in 2018 alone. There would also be an estimated promotional value for Ireland of hosting the event of around €100m.”
“The event continues to grow and the Ryder Cup in Paris last year attracted 270,000 spectators from 90 countries (including France, UK, the USA; Germany; Netherlands; Ireland; Belgium; Switzerland; Spain; Sweden and Denmark). This generated 220,000 commercial bed nights. The global reach of the 2018 Ryder Cup also witnessed a significant increase in social media engagement, with more than 22 billion global impressions across the week, while broadcast viewing figures were also up compared to the 2014 contest at Gleneagles.”
The Ryder Cup comprises a series of “matchplay” matches played between teams representing Europe and the USA over three days. The event is held every two years, with hosting the event alternating between Europe and the USA. The next event is scheduled for Whistling Straits in Wisconsin in 2020.
Minister Ross said today’s Government decision to support the Ryder Cup coming to Ireland in 2026 was the culmination of much work being undertaken behind the scenes in the previous 10 months. He said that he met with the Professional Golf Association (PGA) of the European Tour in Paris last September to discuss the possibility or Ireland hosting the Ryder Cup in 2026. In November last, both Minister Ross and the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD, met with European tour executives. Both Taoiseach and the Minister indicated a willingness to support the proposal that would work for both Ireland and the European Tour.
Following that meeting, intensive talks have taken place between officials from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, supported by Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, and the European tour to scope out the impact of the tournament and support necessary from Government.
Ministers Ross and Griffin said as part of this, a pre-event economic impact study was commissioned by Fáilte Ireland on behalf of the Department, on hosting the Ryder Cup in Adare in 2026. The study concluded that in terms of impact, the projected spend in the Irish economy (including direct, indirect and induced impact) would be in the range of €90m to €161m. The event would also have a strong regional impact supporting jobs, particularly in the Mid West and South West. The study estimates 1,220 full time jobs would be created due to the event.
The Government and the Tour have now agreed a financial support package comprising Licence Fees, investment in Irish Golf Tour Events and Marketing. The precise details are commercially sensitive for the European Tour. The State will also support the event through the provision of local authority and public services such as policing and transport as well as supporting the staging of fan zones and promotional events such as the opening ceremony. There will also be a programme of marketing to maximise the impact of the event for Ireland in terms of profile, attendance and long term legacy.
All of the costs in making the course suitable to host the event would be borne by Adare Manor.