Tag Archives: Doonbeg

  AN emotional appeal has been made by a number of community leaders for those intending to travel to Clare holiday homes for Easter to cancel their plans. Despite the signing into law of stringent new Garda powers to enforce the Covid-19 lock-down, concerns remain that many have flocked to the West in recent days. The Director of Nursing at St Theresa’s Nursing Home in Kilrush told The Champion that the increase in visitors has been noticeable, and said the situation is a great risk to aging communities are already living in fear. “The risk they are bringing is not just to us in the Nursing Home and protection agencies but also to the many ageing communities in West Clare,” Yvonne Moroney said. “This is the same area they love to visit year after year, but it will not be the same if the infection was to catch on in our small communities. Many people are worried about what people …

US Vice President, Mike Pence, is to visit Ireland in September. Mr Pence, who has close family links to Doonbeg, is likely to arrive at Shannon Airport and may meet with Taoiseach there. Mr Pence’s great-grandparents are from Doonbeg although it has not been confirmed that he will visit West Clare during his trip.

“HE was so sound like, he was telling us to stay in school, had we any interest in golf, were there any future Taoiseachs around.” This was one of 16 year old Abbi Shanahan’s memories of meeting President Donald Trump on Friday, as he took a moment from his round of golf at Doonbeg to meet with children from Clohane National School and various members of the Shanahan clan, who were nearby. Abbi’s grandfather, Kevin Shanahan, has land next to the ninth hole, and members of the family went there on Friday as the President was negotiating the course. Her aunt Aideen O’Mahony is Principal of Clohanes National School, and she brought all the children and the school’s staff up there for the occasion. They never expected they would actually get to meet President Trump, but it came about unexpectedly, as Abbi’s 13 year old sister Lucy described. “A secret service person said you can move up a bit, then …

PUPILS and staff of Clohanes National School met with President Donald Trump this morning, as he played the ninth hole at Doonbeg. School principal Aideen O’Mahony brought the children to her family’s land adjacent to the golf course, but only expected they would see the President’s group playing, not that they would get to speak to the American leader. “We brought the children back to the hill, just near the ninth green. My parents home is there, so we brought them there and we were standing on a hill on my parents land. We could see them coming up along the ninth fairway and he played the ninth green. Then one of the Secret Service came over to us and said the President wanted to meet the teachers. We went over and met him and shook hands, he said can I get the children here, and then he said, no, I’ll go to them. He walked over to them, shook …

EXCITEMENT is gripping West Clare again this morning, with strong rumours that First Lady Melania Trump will visit Doonbeg national school. Numerous journalists and photographers are currently in the school’s car park, in the hopes that she will visit at some point during the day. There is still very tight security around Doonbeg, with Garda checkpoints on the approach roads, while an exclusion zone is still in operation close to Trump International. It is understood that Mr Trump began a round of golf at around 10am this morning. There is a very unique atmosphere in the centre of the village today, with numerous media personnel and Gardai present, vastly outnumbering the locals. President Trump did not visit the village last night, despite hopes earlier in the day that he would do so. However White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was one of a party that came down from the hotel, enjoying the hospitality in Comerford’s pub.

PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s visit to Clare began on Wednesday afternoon, as he arrived at Shannon Airport on Air Force One from the UK, held a meeting that lasted less than an hour with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, before travelling by helicopter to Doonbeg. The US President was characteristially outspoken when he addressed the media at the airport, claiming that Brexit will “work out very well” and comparing the Irish border with the one between the US and Mexico. He claimed that he had been unaware of President Michael D Higgins’ criticism of his record on environmental issues and, in fact, countered that “we have the cleanest air in the world in the United States and it’s gotten better since I’m President”. President Trump is due to fly to France on Thursday, return to Doonbeg and spend the night there, play a game of golf on Friday morning before leaving Ireland again later in the day. Security is currently very tight at …

IF Leo Varadkar had been hoping for a mild, diplomatic press conference with Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon, he would have been disappointed. While Brexit is almost universally seen as a historic and catastrophic mistake in Ireland, one which Mr Varadkar and his Government are vehemently opposed to, Mr Trump wasted almost no time before talking it up, as the two spoke to the press in the Shannon Airport terminal. “It’s an honour to be here, we’ll discuss various things, probably you’ll (Varadkar) ask me about Brexit, because I just left some very good people who are very much involved with Brexit as you know. I think it’ll all work out, all work out very well and also for you, with your wall, your border. We have a border situation in the United States and you have one over here. I think they’re both going to work out well. “Both the military and trade are a very big factor and …

CLARE’S first citizen, Councillor Michael Begley said that greeting President Trump is the right thing to do for the count Justa few hours before he was due to welcome Trump at Shannon Airport, he said that the visit of Trump is good for Clare. “I do think it’s good for the county. They have a very substantial project in Doonbeg, employing a couple of hundred people, probably one of the biggest employers in West Clare. I think that it’s something that is good for the county. His visit here, from a tourist view, there will be more people who want to see Doonbeg and what it’s all about. I can’t see it being anything other than good for the county.” Of course President Trump is very unpopular in this country, many are taking to the streets to protest his visit and few of those people would agree that the Donald should get a céad míle fáilte. However Councillor Begley is …