How JP McManus helped bring the Ryder Cup to Adare and put Limerick on the global stage
JP McManus is one of the most influential figures in the horse racing industry. Picture: Vaughn Ridley/Sportsfile
Sitting on the banks of the River Maigue, Adare Manor once hosted hunt balls, country fairs and even a Hollywood movie. After JP McManus dared to imagine, the lavish venue won the bid to play host to the 2027 Ryder Cup.
In his native county, not one person was surprised. After all, if anyone was to bring one of the most sought-after sporting events to Limerick/url], it could only be the man affectionately known was ‘The Sundance Kid’.
“Where there is a will, there is a way”. Words spoken by McManus over a decade ago, when he shared his hopes the Ryder Cup would once be held in Adare Manor.
In 2019, his dream came true when he secured the rights to hold the prestigious tournament in Adare with the support of Ireland’s leading golfers and of his dear friend Tiger Woods.
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“It has been a dream of ours that when we acquired the Adare Manor in 2015 that someday we would see a Ryder Cup held here at Adare. So we’re thrilled now that it has become a reality,” McManus said at the time of the announcement.
It will be the second time Ireland has staged the tournament, after Kildare’s K Club hosted a home victory over the US in 2006. With McManus behind them, the European Tour are working on bringing la crème de la crème to Limerick.
“JP McManus obviously is a proud Limerick man, hugely passionate about Adare itself, about Limerick. His passion and drive to host the event has certainly given us all a great opportunity to deliver one of the best Ryder Cups that's ever been staged,” said Richard Atkinson, chief Ryder Cup officer at the European Tour Group.
Despite being a tax resident in Geneva, McManus retains a strong grip on his roots. He spends part of the year in Ireland, notably in his Martinstown mansion in Kilmallock, although his portfolio extends from Dublin’s Ailesbury Road to the Caribbean.
One of the most influential figures in the horse racing industry, McManus’ fortune is estimated at €2.1 billion, but no one seems to know the exact figure.
Born in 1951, his formative years were spent in the townland of Ballysheedy, only a few kilometres away from Limerick city. McManus was schooled at CBS Sexton Street.
The eldest of five boys, he began his career in his father’s construction plant fire firm before becoming a bookmaker at 21. Behind the stand of Limerick’s Market Field greyhound track in the early 70s, he launched his empire.
Through currency trading and bookmaking, McManus made a fortune for himself. His fearless approach to betting earned him the nickname ‘The Sundance Kid’; one popularised by sports writer Hugh McIlvanney.
At the age of 26, he bought his first horse, Cill Dara, which wore McManus’ famous green and gold colours. Hurling mad, he chose the colours as a nod to South Liberties GAA, the Ballyneety club he was the chairman of at the young age of 21.
McManus is notoriously known for offering slight smiles and retaining a bit of a mystery around his private life, despite his exceedingly public profile. Occasionally, he might offer an insight into his love for racing.
One thing that may dethrone it is his love for Limerick — and perhaps, its hurling team. With a father from Roscommon and a mother from Louth, his interest for Limerick hurling started when he attended junior matches in Caherconlish on Sundays.
In 2011, alongside his brother Jerry and GAA officials, he helped establishing the Limerick Underage Hurling Academy, which nurtured many players who would go on to win multiple All-Ireland medals.
When Limerick won the All-Ireland Final at Croke Park in 2018, ending a 45-year wait for the title, McManus was handed the Liam MacCarthy Cup by the hurlers in the dressing room.
In 2023, the billionaire financier was appointed as Limerick GAA honorary life president. The same year, the McManus family donated €1m to every county board in Ireland — distributing a total of €32m evenly between hurling, camogie, and Gaelic football clubs.
His hefty donations are not only centred towards the GAA. The JP McManus Benevolent Fund supports non-profit organisations across the Mid-West, ranging from healthcare to education.
The star-studded JP McManus Pro-Am in 2022 raised €141m for various initiatives throughout the Mid-West, including the Children’s Grief Centre and Cuan Mhuire, an addiction treatment centre in Bruree.
Over a cup of tea at the Hunt Museum in Limerick in 2015, McManus co-funded the Team Limerick Cleanup (TLC) with the Irish rugby team's forwards coach Paul O’Connell and businesswoman Helen O’Donnell.
”JP McManus called into my cafe at that time, with Paul O'Connell. We sat down thinking ‘What could we do?’. By the end of the chat, we’d come up with a one-day cleanup, now on Good Friday.”
In 2024, McManus endorsed Ms O’Donnell when she ran as an Independent candidate to be Limerick’s first directly elected mayor. For over 20 years, she has been a board member of the JP McManus Benevolent Fund — a €40m community fund.
“I would have known the McManus family going back a long time,” Ms O’Donnell told the . “I’m involved in a lot of environmental and community projects in Limerick City and County, and through those, he (McManus) would have known of my work.”
When the benevolent fund was set up, McManus asked her to become a board member, where she works alongside his daughter Sue Ann.
Ms O’Donnell said the upcoming Ryder Cup is the “single biggest event” that will ever be held in Limerick. An accolade “completely due to the McManus family”.
“They've been at the last two Ryder Cups in New York and in Rome. That’s not just to go and enjoy it. It's to go to see how it's being run, see how Limerick can do it better,” she said.
“That's the type of people that you're dealing with. Their attention to detail and their commitment to making sure that everything is five-star is quite extraordinary.
If there is one thing Ms O’Donnell admires about JP McManus, it’s his loyalty — particularly to his native county.
”He's an incredibly loyal person. And that loyalty, is one word I would associate with him, and his extraordinary generosity to all kinds of organisations,” she said.
Perhaps it’s because of McManus’ notable love for Limerick that many were left shocked when the local council rejected a €30m gift in June 2024.
He offered them the International Rugby Experience (IRE) located on O’Connell Street, and even promised a further €100,000 to help run the building.
A gift some said was thrown back “in the face of a Limerick man who has contributed so much” to his county. Behind closed doors at a meeting with the local council, McManus fought back tears as he spoke about his pride of being made a Freeman of the City.
His address was rare as McManus is known as a rather quiet man.
In 2009, he was treated for prostate cancer. The next year, he openly spoke to the about how lucky he felt it had been detected at an early stage.
Former editor of the and current associate editor at , Alan English, interviewed McManus three times.
“There's only so much he's going to give up, but if he feels comfortable he can be a very engaging interviewee,” said Mr English.
His second interview with McManus was billed on the front page of the local paper as “the most candid interview he has ever given” — a statement Mr English stands by to this day.
“The interview was 6,000 words long — he's well able to talk and he's a good storyteller, when he gets going.” When McManus gets featured locally, it is often about Limerick hurling. At matches, he is often spotted alongside A-list celebrities.
Last weekend, he was accompanied by none other than US Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk — who quickly turned into a fan of the Limerick hurlers as the team booked their spot in the Munster final.
Furyk had previously praised McManus’s hospitality. “I think the world of JP McManus”, he had said prior to his visit.
As excitement is building up for the Ryder Cup, Furyk said McManus “probably won’t be rooting for us, but I know he’s a gentleman and welcoming”.
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