‘Everyone is talking about the Ryder Cup’: Adare embraces countdown to golf’s biggest event
With over a year to go until the 46th Ryder Cup is held at Adare Manor, many tourists are already stopping by the village with two words on their lips: Ryder Cup. Photo: Larry Cummins
One resident in Adare almost missed out on complimentary Ryder Cup[/url[ tickets when the postman handed over the mail to her young son.
“We got tickets and honestly it was such a welcome surprise. The postman handed the letter to my five-year-old so it nearly ended up in play school,” Michelle Gallagher laughed.
Each household in the Adare village postal code got two complimentary passes, valid for any day of the tournament, as well as the option to purchase four additional passes.
For Ms Gallagher, it will be a family affair as her parents and siblings also received passes.
“There will be three generations of our family who will get to experience the Ryder Cup. The equity of access means that people who might never get exposed to this will have access to it, I think it’s very special and inclusive,” she told the .
When tickets went on sale through a priority window for Irish residents, Ms Gallagher, like many, was trying to get into the queue.
“I have two sons and I really wanted them to experience the Ryder Cup. It’s a lot of money to spend on tickets, the cost was a concern,” she said. “We were able to buy tickets for ourselves and our two sons, and we’re gonna go up on the Thursday, which is the opening ceremony and the final day of the Junior Ryder Cup.”
Over the years, she attended JP McManus Pro-Am tournaments which always caused a "buzz around Adare" — something she described as special.
“For the non-real golfers in our house, they might get to see some celebs. So many of these amazing players have come through the Junior Ryder Cup, it’s a chance to hopefully see Tiger Woods’ son and the stars of the future play in the Manor.”
Speaking of the organisers, she said: “They’ve done a lot of work in building bridges and making sure the community feels part of this Ryder Cup. I just really really hope that we go ahead and win it on Adare soil, that would be really special.”
With over a year to go until the 46th Ryder Cup is held at Adare Manor, many tourists are already stopping by the village. And there are two words on everyone's lips: Ryder Cup.
Anna Coffey, who co-owns Adare Grocer with her partner Mark Lynch, said the tournament is the “main conversation here in Adare every day”.
“I’m not big into golf myself, but my husband Mark is going with his friends with the tickets we got. We weren’t expecting that at all, we thought maybe we might have some kind of bonus for being here, but being offered tickets for any day was a great benefit to us,” she said.
While he admits he would not be a huge golf fan, Mark said having a shop in the village makes it “special”.
“I’m really excited to see the combination of all the work and infrastructure going on here in Adare. We’re going on the last day, so we’ll be there for the end of what I hope will be a busy week for us,” he said.
“It’s a big event and it’s not cheap to go, so I feel it’s a lovely gesture for the Ryder Cup to hand out free tickets as apparently it’s not something they’ve done in the past. I feel very privileged to have a shop in Adare when all of this is going on, but it’s great to get a free ticket and a chance to go to witness the spectacle.”
John Shovlin and his wife were also thrilled to receive free tickets — particularly after never missing a Pro-Am.
“We’re looking forward to seeing Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry. The Irish supporters are unbelievable, they love their golf.
“Everybody is talking about the Ryder Cup, it’s really busy. There’s lots of people coming to visit the golf club.
“We had Jim Furyk here at the weekend, I just met him this morning. He was at the service station, putting gas in his car, I just wished him well,” laughed Mr Shovlin.
Claire Staunton, the manager of The Good Room, will be attending the tournament on the Sunday.
According to Ms Staunton, every single person who walks through the door of her establishment wants to talk about the Ryder Cup.
“We had two Americans sitting at the bar on Saturday night, and that's the first thing that they talk about. They were telling me that they had the Ryder Cup in Boston in the 1990s, so they were just saying how exciting it was for the area,” she said.
Ms Staunton compared the event to a “big holiday” everyone is “mentally preparing for”.
“I don't know a whole lot about golf, but I know what JP McManus is capable of doing and how amazing Adare Manor is, that combined with the Ryder Cup itself, it's huge.”
Asked about whether or not she would consider renting accommodation, she said it is under consideration.
“I know a lot of people are doing it. I'm considering doing it because we are just living in a new house, so it'd be relatively easy to buff it up. I'm living in Castletroy, they’re getting a huge park and ride beside Finnegans, so anywhere out there would do really well.”
As excitement is building up, even children are aware of the importance of the tournament so that when she announces to her kids she has “Ryder Cup meetings”, they understand the “importance of it”.
“We are in talks with different people about the event and maybe taking over the space privately. Every time those kind of meetings come up, they're very important, so they're the kind of things that I leave home for,” she said.
“Usually there's a bit of 'please don't go', but they know the importance of it. They know how big it is.”
Like many, Ms Staunton is also a fan of celebrity spotting.
“The closest we've come to a celebrity golfer is Rory McIlroy's uncle. When the Pro-Am was on, he used to come here every day for his breakfast when Rory was young.”
According to her, golf fans bring an atmosphere “nearly like Electric Picnic”.
“I love Shane Lowry, and I follow his wife, Wendy, she has great style. So I'm interested in all the wives as much as I am in the golfers, they've all amazing style,” she said.
“I'm a celebrity spotter, so I'm excited to see who'll be here. I guess every single person that I've ever met or ever known is gonna be watching Adare, and that's kind of exciting, to think that we're just right here.”
While she does not live locally and did not get tickets, Tanya Brown, the principal at St Nicholas School got to see the cup in person.
“We actually got up close and personal with the Ryder Cup itself which was just amazing to see. To be so close to the cup and touch it and actually hold it.
“Luke was great, he was just interested in the kids and playing golf, showing them different shots,” Ms Brown said.
Limerick hurling manager, John Kiely, has also paid schools in Adare a visit, as he took up a position working with JP McManus to help prepare the staging of the tournament at Adare Manor.
“There’s been a bit of a buzz this school year,” Ms Brown said.
“John Kiely is sort of the liaison person with the schools and the Ryder Cup. He came to visit all the schools early September last year, spoke to all the kids and talked about what was happening, and how special it was going to be.
“Because it was John Kiely, that made quite an impression with the kids anyway in the first place.”
While 1,500 complimentary tickets were allocated to residents in Adare to acknowledge the disruption, those in the wider parish were excluded. As the move sparked outrage in parts of the community, Tidy Towns activist and local councillor Bridie Collins urged the Government to intervene.
A spokesperson for Ryder Cup Europe said the ticketing allocation for residents was “the result of careful planning and consideration over several months”.
“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,” they said.
As tourists flock to Adare, many are already asking about the Ryder Cup, while business owners have been in regular contact with tournament organisers as they prepare for 2027.
A source told the a “new Ryder Cup logo" is available for licensing for local businesses as they are not able to use the official image.
They will be using a “Ready for 2027” logo, created in partnership with Ryder Cup Europe.
Angelika Butler, who owns the Adare Cottage on Main Street, has already put a banner up for the occasion.
“We're hoping to produce something special for the Ryder Cup. My sign outside has attracted a lot of attention, and people are coming in and they're asking about it. But they're looking for merchandise for the Ryder Cup,” Ms Butler said.
She said the bypass would take the main traffic out, but locals would “all have to really get behind it” and do “the best we can”.
“We did get tickets for the businesses because it is going to be difficult for us during that week because we're going to have a big influx of people. It’s the first time that the Ryder Cup actually has a village attached to it.”
On Monday, Limerick City and County Council unveiled its own strategic marketing initiative, Golf Limerick, designed to position Limerick as a premier international golf destination ahead of the Ryder Cup.
Developed as a legacy project, the initiative is in partnership with the seven golf courses across the county, all under a unified identity.
Meanwhile, business owners were told 10 parking spaces on Main Street would be removed, though 20 additional spaces would be made available at the Heritage Centre car park. They were also told roadworks in the village are due to start in August.
Designer Aoife McNamara said the tournament would be “incredible” for the village, as she is expecting a business boost.
“Oh my God, it's going to come up around so quickly. We got tickets, so we're absolutely honoured. So many people have been asking about it. There’s so much hype, a lot of Americans and a lot of Irish as well are asking about it,” she said.
Ms McNamara said they were getting fully prepared for what is to come.
“We are getting fully prepared, we're actually looking into the whole US side of our market, which is such a popular market for us already. But we're really looking at that expansion into the US over the next year.
“We’re hoping for a really big difference in sales within the next year and especially obviously the week of.”
Annette Mann, who owns the fashion boutique Annette's, said hosting the tournament was a privilege for the village.
“I think a lot of credit is due to the McManus family for helping to put it here,” she said. The bypass is going very quickly, so I think that will be a big plus for the village. There'll be a lot more parking available for people.”
During the 2022 JP McManus Pro-Am, Mr McManus gifted 60 pre-paid credit cards worth €10,000 each to the wives and partners of participating golfers and celebrities.
The move generated a boost for local boutiques, and 20% of all purchases made with the cards were donated to charities supported by the JP McManus foundation across the Mid-West region.
“Of course it was wonderful, but these are women who are used to shopping in Rome, Paris, Milan, all that sort of thing,” Ms Mann said.
At a meeting, she suggested the gift cards could be given to “for a lack of better word, ordinary people” instead.
“If there was somebody handing out €1,000 vouchers indiscriminately to people, I think that would have a huge impact. It would be lovely if the general public, the other side of golfing, not the billionaire side of golfing, it would be lovely for them,” she said.
Eleanor Purcell, whose boutique, Black Abbey Crafts, is inside the Heritage Centre, said the village was getting a “huge facelift” and that it is “about time” Adare got its bypass.
“The Adare bypass — 32 years later,” she laughed. “At last, we’re going to have the much-needed bypass.
"For many years, the heavy traffic has been a disincentive for people stopping in Adare. If you have to drive in and out every day, it’s absolutely killing, and it’s all day.”
As construction has begun on a former railway station in Adare, locals are hoping it will remain open after the tournament and not be used as a temporary station.
“We got a bit shaky last week when they suggested the train station would only operate for the Ryder Cup. Please, please, please, we need the train line to operate,” Ms Purcell said.
It's a sentiment Limerick TD Niall Collins agrees with, as he told the he has "no doubt" Adare will soon have a passenger railway line.
"Irish Rail are well aware of the issue. The CEO is from Co Clare and recently ran Shannon Airport successfully, she knows and understand the region. We’ve put a huge investment into refurbishing the railway line and rightly so. I’ve no doubt in my mind, it’s common sense that there will be a passenger railway line," Mr Collins said.
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