Adare Manor ready to put on 'megashow' for 2027 Ryder Cup

ADARE Manor is ready to put on a “megashow” to mark the centenary of the Ryder Cup in 2027.

The County Limerick venue owned by golf lover JP McManus is now gearing up to stage one of the biggest sporting events in the world after the finish of the 45th edition in New York.

Europe will be defending the trophy on Irish soil after Luke Donald’s team withheld a last-day onslaught from the Americans to make it back-to-back wins with a 15-13 victory at Bethpage Black on Long Island.

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The first Ryder Cup was held at Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts in 1927 and bosses at Adare Manor in tandem with Ryder Cup in Europe aim to put on an event in two years’ time that marks the milestone edition in a fitting manner.

McManus himself was in Long Island for last week’s event along with members of his management team, as well as course superintendent Alan MacDonnell. 

“It’s very quick that the attention, I suppose, focuses on Adare Manor and Limerick in Ireland,” said Brendan O’Connor, the general manager of the five-star venue.

“There’s six of us here and we have to take this opportunity to come over and see the scale of the build and learn from it and get ourselves ready.

“So I’ve been here with an operational team from Adare while there are other entities here, including representatives of both local and national government in Ireland as well as the police, and this is our last chance to see the event in full flight.

“We’ve been to Rome (venue for the 2023 event) as well, so we got that opportunity to see a European Ryder Cup and we are here now again, so it’s a kind of a case of measure twice then cut once. These were good days to be spending with the team and watching what was going on while getting an occasional glimpse of the golf.”

McManus was out on the course on the opening day on Friday along with his close friend Dermot Desmond as the opening foursomes matches edged towards a conclusion.

Brendan O'Connor, general manager at Adare Manor

“JP has been around the venue for a couple of days getting a real good look at it,” added O’Connor. “We are in collaboration with Ryder Cup Europe to just make sure that we all come together and put on a megashow in 2027. It’s the centenary year as well and that’s something that will be in the back of our minds as it is a very special year for the Ryder Cup.”

Ireland staged the transatlantic tussle for the first time in 2006 at The K Club, where Ian Woosnam captained Europe to a thumping 18.5-9.5 victory.

“I wasn’t at The K Club, but it’s a thing of legend in Ireland in terms of a golf event,” admitted O’Connor.

“And, having seen it in Rome and now here in the US as well, there is definitely growth in the size of the structures, the amount of people, the offering.

“The footprint here takes almost a year to bring it together and we have already started some infrastructure works at Adare. We’ve been doing projects even last winter that are relevant to 2027 and that’s just to prepare ground to carry marquee structures or to put in plumping or waste water infrastructure that is going to help facilitate the event. It’s nigh on impossible to do this build in a year without having done some prep work. Oh, it’s massive.”

Europe will now be bidding to make it three wins in a row in 2027 and the aim is to create a similar atmosphere on the first tee as the one at Marco Simone Golf Club on the outskirts of Rome two years ago.

“The first tee experience has kind of changed and evolved over the years and that is massive, too,” continued O’Connor.

“We are going to be more in the horse-shoe shape than the one here, which was quite open due to the first tee and 18th green being right beside each other.

“I noticed in Rome stuff like silly chants such as ‘we are the right side’, ‘we are the left side’. You can see more fans and the first-tee experience is about fans as well. You can have so much fun with it with music and chants. The supporters get so revved up at 5am in the morning.”

Last week’s event saw a visit by US President Donald Trump, forcing security measures to be stepped up overnight and the place being awash with Secret Service people on Friday after he’d marked his arrival by Air Force One flying over the course.

“Who knows?” replied O’Connor to being asked if there could be a repeat in 2027. “You know what, he owns a hotel in Ireland. By chopper, he’s only about ten minutes away from us and he’s a big fan of the game. I think after his visit here people will have to bear that in mind. He’ll still be the president of the United States when it’s our turn in 2027.”

The course at Adare Manor is now closed for the winter as more work gets done to make sure it is in tip-top condition when it hosts 24 of the best players in the world and O’Connor is excited about the financial impact the event will deliver for the local community.

“The village of Adare is within touching distance of the golf course and this will forever change the village,” he said. “Everyone is raising the bar. The community spirit behind this event is massive. Businesses, we hope, will do incredibly well and even infrastructure in the local area is being upgraded. 

“So there are multiple benefits to this and I think we will all learn a lot from hosting a big international event. We’ll have the world spotlight on us.”

During the week, Tourism Ireland hosted events in New York, including a reception in Manhattan, to mark the build up to 2027. 

“This is a very special week for Ireland as we proudly accept the handover of the Ryder Cup for 2027,” said Siobhan McManamy, Tourism Ireland’s Director of Markets & Partnerships.

“The stunning setting of one of our most beautiful manor house hotels, together with the passion of the fans, makes Adare Manor a truly superb venue to showcase our golf and Ireland.”