One in 10 hotel rooms in Ireland already booked for Ryder Cup at Adare Manor

As Adare Manor readies for Ryder Cup 2027, Ireland braces for massive visitor numbers, record hotel demand and lasting economic impact

Rory McIlroy at Adare Manor. Pic: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

You’d have to be living under a rock, or plugged in a particularly bad bunker, to have missed the excitement surrounding the Ryder Cup.

From the high jinks and heroics of upstate New York last week, the focus now firmly turns to Adare Manor in Co Limerick, as the global sports event prepares to touch down in September 2027. The pre-event in Co Limerick begins on Sunday, September 13, with the match action getting underway on Thursday, September 17 until honours are decided on Sunday, September 19.

Adare Manor owner JP McManus, the driving force behind bring the 46th Ryder Cup to Limerick, accepted a mounted silver putter at Bethpage Black last Sunday in a symbolic handover of the tournament to Europe. 

The Midwest has seen huge sporting spectacles over the years, from Munster miracles at Thomond to hurling sellouts at the Gaelic Grounds, but not since Pope John Paul II celebrated mass at Limerick Racecourse in 1979 will the region have seen such an influx. 

The Ryder Cup was already box office, and the second ever staging of the event in Ireland, in the tournament’s centenary year, has piqued interest in the 2027 event.

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry of Team Europe celebrates their victory over Justin Thomas and Cameron Young of Team United States following the afternoon fourball matches on day two of the Ryder Cup at the Bethpage Black Course, Farmingdale, New York. Picture date: Saturday September 27, 2025.

Ryder Cup organisers say they expect 55,000 visitors daily on the three days of competition, and around 300,000 visitors over the entire week, including 60,000 overseas attendees. General sale ticket prices for the 2027 event have not yet been revealed, and are expected to go on sale next spring. But already available are corporate packages.

A place in the Trophy Suite, including welcome drinks, food options and access to a private terrace overlooking the par three 11th hole, will set you back €13,550 for access from Thursday until Sunday.

The Captain’s Club premium experience, “an upbeat urban space serving local cuisine, drinks, live entertainment” a short stroll from the 5th green and 6th tee, will set you back around €600 (excluding VAT) on the Wednesday before the tournament, rising to €925 on the Thursday, €2,250 on the Friday, €1,950 on the Saturday, and €2,250 on the Sunday.

Private Ryder Cup suites, for 30 guest and more, will also be available. The Ryder Cup organisation is yet to announce the price of its accommodation packages.

Meanwhile, the Irish Hotels Federation, the representative body for the industry in Ireland, has been regularly in consultation with the Ryder Cup travel services team over the past year to assist them in getting room blocks for 2027.

IHF chief executive Paul Gallagher said 6,500 rooms have already been booked by the Ryder Cup organisation and the IHF are sourcing a further 3,500 rooms. “There will be regional pressure point. Ireland has around 65,000 hotel rooms, at the moment, in total, and the Ryder Cup organisation needs about 10,000. Some of the rooms are for major sponsors, some are for TV crews, some are for team accommodation,” said Mr Gallagher.

"There is an amount of accommodation needed for employees, and different types of accommodation blocks from rooms to glamping pods you would see at musical events. There's lots of activity to ensure there is sufficient space."

Caution to those planning to rent room

Some rooms will be booked out by Ryder Cup organisers for two weeks, for the pre and post event. Limerick and Killarney are among the areas which are being focused as accommodation ‘hubs’.

Last week, the Irish Examiner reported that local property owners within walking distance of Adare Manor were advised by the official Ryder Cup property rental programme they could charge up to €25,600 to rent their house for the week of the tournament. 

Separately, private property owners have advertised properties in Limerick for up to €60,000 for the week. Richard Atkinson, Chief Ryder Cup officer at European Tour believes some of those private prices may be out of bounds. “I think businesses and individuals who are renting out houses need to be realistic,” he said. “I would caution them not to sell to people that don't have tickets yet when tickets won't be on sale until middle of next year.” 

IHF chief executive Gallagher said that most hoteliers are keeping prices at a balanced level, and a short-term killing is “not in their interest”. “The longer-term dividend for doing a world-class event well will pay into future decades. Kildare still enjoys the benefit of hosting the tournament in 2006.” 

The flashback to Kildare shows how lucrative the tournament is. A report, by Deloitte, jointly commissioned by Ryder Cup Europe and Fáilte Ireland, showed an additional €148m injected into the Irish economy.

Ireland welcomed an additional 90,000 overseas visitors in Ireland in September 2006, compared to the same month the previous year, with a majority attending the Ryder Cup. Beyond the tournament, US visitors stayed in Ireland for a further 4.7 days, while other overseas visitors stayed for an additional three days.

Economic footprint

Jim Deegan, professor of tourism policy and director of the National Centre for Tourism Policy Studies (NCTPS) at the University of Limerick, said that price spiking can be criticised, but ultimately not controlled.

“It does not do the reputation of Ireland any good if there is price gouging around the event. When big events come, they push prices up - that's just the way the world works. But this event is not just going to be a benefit to Adare or Limerick because we don't have accommodation that's going to be able to serve all the people. So therefore the economic footprint of the event is going to happen in a lot of counties - Kerry, Galway, Cork.

“The big issue for the region is can we harness the opportunity to not just provide a really good experience for those who come for golf, but get people to come a few days before the event and a few days after the event.” 

The Government is investing around €58m in Ryder Cup 2027, while separately, the €154.5m contract for the Adare bypass, to be constructed ahead of the event, was signed in December 2024. Construction commenced in January 2025 and Limerick City and Co Council said the project remains on schedule to be open for June 2027, three months out from the tournament.

The bypass will provide a “positive externality” from the Ryder Cup, says UL Prof Deegan. “You could argue politically that the bypass shouldn’t require the Ryder Cup to come along to get built. But nonetheless, it's going to provide a long-term return to all the residents of Ireland who have to travel on the roads every day.” 

A whole transport plan from the National Transport Authority is required for Ryder Cup, with a passenger train station stop at Adare set to run from early 2027. There’s also a whole aviation plan to be considered. A spokesperson for Shannon Airport said the airport anticipates “a significant increase in traffic from both private and commercial aircraft in the lead-up to it. As part of a major investment currently underway, we’re also upgrading our baggage hall to incorporate a new belt dedicated to handling oversized items, such as golf clubs.” A Cork Airport spokesperson said they also expect “a degree of traffic for commercial and general aviation”, with Kerry Airport also likely to be utilised.

Ryder Cup’s Richard Thompson said the Ireland is easier to navigate compared to many other Ryder Cup tournaments. “It was taking people to hours to travel from Manhattan to to Bethpage last week. Rome was no different. The west side of Dublin is around two hours from Adare, so it's very accessible from that perspective.”