Ryder Cup ticket row deepens as Minister asked to intervene in Adare

Residents of the wider Adare parish, living outside the village postal code, were not given complimentary passes to the golf tournament and have asked the sports minister to intervene

'It is the single biggest issue to have come up since the Ryder Cup was announced. So many people have been left out. I can see disappointment building to anger, said Tidy Towns activist Bridie Collins. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Sports minister Patrick O'Donovan has been asked to intervene in a festering Ryder Cup tickets row in Adare.

Each household in the Adare village postal code got two complimentary passes, valid for any day of the tournament, but residents of the wider parish, outside the postal code, were excluded.

The Government is now being urged to intervene ahead of the event in September.

Tidy Towns activist and Adare representative on Limerick City and County Council Bridie Collins said: "They allocated the passes without any community involvement.

I am sure the Ryder Cup people had no intention of upsetting people. 

"I would say about 80% of our Tidy Towns group, who go out in all kinds of weather, picking up weeds and setting flowers and keeping Adare clean, live outside the village post code area. 

"I am trying to figure out how to get it resolved, I have spoken to Patrick O'Donovan. While those of us living outside the village postal code have been excluded, people with businesses in the village, who also reside in the village post code, got two allocations: one for their private house and another for their business."

Ms Collins said the anger could have been avoided.

"My phone has been going non-stop since we learned of the allocation of complimentary passes and the way it was done. 

"I can tell you there is a lot of disappointment in Adare. I don't know who's advising the Ryder Cup people.

"It is the single biggest issue to have come up since the Ryder Cup was announced. So many people have been left out. I can see disappointment building to anger. This decision was not a good one and I don't know if anyone in the community was involved."

Village residents given free passes have also been told they can purchase four additional passes.

A spokesperson for Ryder Cup Europe said: “The ticketing allocation for residents was the result of careful planning and consideration over several months. 

"It took into account a wide range of operational and logistical factors. The vast majority of feedback we’ve had from residents has been incredibly positive and we continue to work closely with representatives of the Adare community not only to help minimise the impact of staging the Ryder Cup, but also to include them in the celebration of one of the world’s great sporting events.”