‘It will be stratospheric’: Plans for Ryder Cup in Limerick advance

THE HOSTING of the 2027 Ryder Cup in Limerick is a “colossal” challenge but one which organisers are relishing, a well-placed source within the organising group said this week.

Preparations for when the world’s top golfers come to Limerick upped a gear in recent days following the end of this year’s competition in Rome on Sunday evening.

The next time The Ryder Cup is hosted in Europe, it will be right here in Limerick, at the five-star Adare Manor resort.

“It’s going to be stratospheric for Limerick. We are really ramping up our preparations now. The numbers and logistics are huge.

"It will be a colossal challenge between transport, accommodation, the movement of people, and health and safety,” said a source close to the organisation of the huge event which is the biggest sporting event Limerick has ever seen and the third largest sporting event in the world, with the event only surpassed by the soccer World Cup and summer Olympic Games in terms of size and popularity.

The visit to Rome provided invaluable insight into the staging of the third largest sporting event in the world,” a local authority spokesperson said.

This week, there was another sign that the tournament’s arrival in Limerick is getting closer.

The public have been invited to register their interest in attending the biennial contest, with a portal opening online.

People are being asked to fill out a questionnaire with their contact details, date of birth, whether they'll be neutral or backing the USA or European sides.

On top of this, they are asked to indicate what kind of ticket they'd be interested in availing of - general admission, an enhanced general admission ticket, a premium experience, or all of the above.

The questionnaire also seeks information on any applicant's projected daily budget, from €50 to more than €1,750 per person, and whether they'd be interested in accommodation and packages involving travel to and from Adare Manor.

Information is also sought around how much they would budget for this, per person, per-day. And indeed, how many people are in a group.

Former Europe Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley said 750,000 people applied for 250,000 tickets for this year’s showpiece in Rome.

Limerick's Adare Manor named Best Resort in Europe for second year running

A huge influx of golf fans will descend on Shannonside for the competition in 2027 - which, as of yet, still does not have an exact tee-off date.

And it already looks like there will be a battle to find a place to stay.

When the Leader first reported in October 2021 about a website called Accommodation for The Event (AfTE) -which allows people to “rent your house for the Ryder Cup 2027” - there were just four homes listed.

This week, there are 219 properties available for rent. And they aren’t just in Limerick - property owners in Cork, Kerry, Tipperary, Clare and Galway are getting in on the act too!

Prices on the ‘Accomodationfortheevent’ site range from €9,000 for a Killarney apartment to a pad in Nenagh which is being advertised for €85,000 for 10 days.

Elsewhere, there is more good news for Adare Manor this week, with the five-star venue retaining its title as Best Resort in Europe and the Best Resort in the World for the second straight year in the prestigious Conde Nast travel awards.

Running since 1998, these are the longest-running awards which recognise excellence in travel. Hundreds of global travellers vote in these.