Doonbeg keeps it under the wind

IT WAS late in the evening, though not so late that the food and beverage hadtaken an edge off the senses.

Buddy Darby, the fantastically-named part-owner of The Lodge at Doonbeg Golf Club, rose, I’m sure, with the intention of extending a broad invitation to sample and savour the delights of his sumptuous five-star resort in west Clare. Instead, he meandered into a mission statement that was striking for its honesty and brevity more than its verbosity.

I had no taping device to hand, but I can paraphrase it like he delivered it last night: “We know at this stage we may not turn a profit from Doonbeg, but that’s okay. We have other facilities around the world like Christophe Harbour in St Kitts to do that. This development is about a lot more than turnover.