'Nicest ballroom in the country' approved for Donald Trump's Doonbeg Golf Course

Trump International Golf Club applied to build the ballroom for 320 guests. File picture: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Clare County Council has given the green light to build a ballroom at US president Donald Trump's Doonbeg Golf Course — subject to conditions including the protection of a tiny species of snails.

Trump International Golf Club on the West Clare coast in December applied to build the ballroom for 320 guests, with Trump's son Eric claiming that it would be "the nicest ball­room in the country".

Environmentalists objected to the proposal, saying more needed to be done to improve the status of a rare snail present at the site. 

The Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) pointed to  the “terminal decline” of the protected snail species, Vertigo angustior, at the location since 2019. The Vertigo angustior is a protected species under the EU Habitats Directive.

Clare County Council planners, in a decision published on its website, said it had granted planning permission for the ballroom subject to 14 conditions. One of the conditions requested that the golf club submit a management plan for the protected snail, including conservation management actions to restore its favourable status on the lands.

According to the plans, the new ballroom will be 1,240sq m, a fraction of the 8,360sq m of the ballroom planned for the White House.

 - Reuters