President Donald Trump 'looking forward' to visiting County Clare

US President Donald Trump says he’s looking forward to visiting County Clare next week.

Mr Trump, who is due to arrive at Shannon Airport next Wednesday, will stay at his family-owned hotel and golf resort in Doonbeg during the short visit to Europe.

“Well we are going to be staying in Doonbeg in Ireland because it’s convenient. and it’s a great place,” he told RTÉ correspondent Brian O’Donovan in Washington this Thursday afternoon.

Breaking: US President @realDonaldTrump tells me he’s looking forward to his visit to Ireland next week. @rtenews pic.twitter.com/FPJv1xra3m

— Brian O'Donovan (@BrianOD_News) May 30, 2019

Mr Trump, who is due to meet with An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at Shannon Airport next week, confirmed he would be meeting with “a lot of the Irish officials” while in County Clare.

Meanwhile, a massive security operation, involving hundreds of gardai, will be mounted from this weekend.

There will be additional patrols and checkpoints in both Shannon and Doonbeg and passengers traveling to and from Shannon Airport are being advised to expect some delays during the visit.

Several hotels in Limerick are booked to capacity for the next ten days because of the presidential visit.

A number of protests are to take place during the visit and a peace camp will be set up near the airport on Wednesday.