Trump considers Irish golf course buy

BILLIONAIRE Donald Trump is considering adding an Irish golf course to his portfolio of 10 courses in the US, Europe, and the Caribbean.

This week, his son, Donald J Trump Jnr, 33, flew into Ireland and held meetings in Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel, with the aim of adding a second European course to the €1.12 billion luxury golf course and property complex being developed by the family organisation in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

The Irish Examiner understands that Mr Trump engaged with the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) through KPMG and that the sale of distressed assets in Ireland to the Trump organisation was discussed.

Mr Trump Jnr visited a number of golf properties in Ireland and his initial target is believed to be an existing golf course project on Ireland’s east coast, south of Dublin. One of the courses visited by Mr Trump was the European Golf Club, Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow.

NAMA said it is their policy not to comment on any negotiations they may, or may not, be having with parties it engages with.

Mr Trump Jnr is executive vice-president at The Trump Organisation and is playing a key role in the development of a €280m hotel, 950 holiday homes and 500 houses on 1,400 acres of sand dunes and rolling bluffs along three miles of coastline at Menie Estate in Scotland.

The Trumps indicated they might switch their attention from Scotland to Northern Ireland when it ran into initial planning problems in 2008, but construction is now well under way on the Scottish site and is expected to open to golfers next year.