According to the Managing Director of Trump International Hotel and Golf Links at Doonbeg, the alleged bomb threat to his hotel which was reported in The Irish Mirror last week, did not happen.
Asked about the alleged bomb threat story carried in the newspaper, Joe Russell resolutely said, “that did not happen”, and that the report in the paper was “incorrect”.
“It should not have been reported. That was completely wrong,” he said.
He added that he had two inquiries about the alleged incident.
The Irish Mirror report on Wednesday of last week by crime correspondent Michael O’Toole stated that sources told the paper a bomb threat via a phone call was made to Trump Doonbeg on Tuesday of last week.
That day, February 18 was the same day US President Trump accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia
The incident also coincided with a high-level delegation meeting between the US and Russia in Saudi Arabia.
The red-top also reported that Gardaí with a specialist sniffer dog from Dublin searched the site but found nothing suspicious, and with no device located, it did not necessitate deployment of the Defence Forces bomb squad.
Furthermore, Gardaí did not confirm any such incident relating to Trump Doonbeg to their publication, the Irish Mirror said.
The tabloid’s story came one week after several schools across County Clare received a hoax email threatening “one of the most prolific attacks in Irish history” leading to a number of schools closing.
The Doonbeg resort closes on weekdays for the winter season, and it will not fully open until the last weekend in March.
Meanwhile, looking forward to the upcoming tourist season at the resort, Mr Russell said both their domestic and seasonal guests are gearing up to return to the resort, which is good for their organisation.
“2024 was an extraordinary good year for us. Last year was better than 2023, and 2025 is looking stellar.”
The MD also revealed that since the Trump family bought the resort in 2014, the business has grown.
“The organisation and family do have a following. It is hard to establish it as a fact but certainly it helps,” he said.
Sharon Dolan D’Arcy covers West Clare news. After completing a masters in journalism at University of Galway, Sharon worked as a court reporter at the Sligo Weekender. She was also editor of the Athenry News and Views.