A festival for everyone

The Irish Open may be one of the most prestigious tournaments on the golfing calendar but for most of its 87 years it has been a lot more than just a sporting occasion.

And that’s the way it will be once again at Fota Island Resort this week when some of the game’s finest, including Ireland’s four Major champions — Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Pádraig Harrington and Darren Clarke — will vie for the fans’ attention against a varied and attractive range of counter attractions centred on the hugely impressive tented village.

Early visitors to Fota this week will be overwhelmed by the sight that awaits them with the acres of tastefully decorated marquees provided by Galway company Eventus and grandstands adding enormously to the innate and natural beauty of Fota. The village, complete with giant television screen, is located to the right of the second hole in the middle of the course and easily reached by those coming off the eighth and 14th greens and by those availing of the rail service to Fota.

With the weather forecast extremely favourable throughout the week and the expectation of close on 100,000 spectators, it promises to be one of the greatest sporting occasions in Cork’s history. Fans will enjoy a number of new features including a farmers’ market; children’s art exhibition, supernova kids’ zone, wacky trousers day on Friday with prizes for the most colourful attire and live music in the village on Saturday and Sunday.

“Everything is going very smoothly so far,” says the European Tour’s tournament director Antonia Beggs. “At first we were a bit unsure about the location of the tented village but that has worked out very much to our satisfaction. Our corporate partners and 15 other companies are among the exhibitors in the village while we have sold 550 corporate hospitality covers which is ahead of expectations. We had none at all in Killarney when the economy was down and it’s also up on Carton House last year. That all takes place in the Fota hotel.

“We are particularly pleased at the way Cork companies have come on board. It means that we have lost nothing in comparison with being in the Dublin area, although the interest in the capital has also been outstanding with large numbers planning to come by rail. Ticket sales are 10% to 15% ahead of Carton, although we obviously won’t have a clearer picture until we see how the Irish players get on in the US Open and what the weather is like.

“Spectators can enjoy spectacular views from specially constructed grandstands on both the ninth and 18th greens, with tickets priced at €10. Grandstand tickets for Sunday are sold out while there are very many excellent vantage points throughout.”

This year sees the launch of the Irish Open children’s art competition in association with the Confederation of Golf in Ireland (CGI). Shane Lowry launched the initiative that invites primary school children from all over Ireland to submit their interpretation of the theme — My Ireland, My Irish Open.