Irish Open to go ahead without a sponsor

The Irish Open Golf tournament is to go ahead in Killarney, Co Kerry this July without a sponsor.

Fáilte Ireland, backed by the Government, is to invest €1.25m in the €3m event. The remainder will be covered by smaller sponsors.

Newly crowned US Open champion Rory McIllroy will headline the field alongside Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell.

Junior Minister for Tourism, Michael Ring, said it was important for the country to hold the event.

"One of the big planks of government is to make sure that we get people into the country" he said.

"For this event 80,000 people will actually come to Killarney. We'll have 150,000 people in the country this year to play golf. That brings in a revenue of €110m a year," he said.