Hosting Open a ‘tribute’ to people of Northern Ireland, says George Mitchell

It was a “special treat” to return to Northern Ireland for the Open at Royal Portrush, former US senator George Mitchell has said.

Mr Mitchell, who chaired the 1998 Good Friday negotiations to their successful outcome, said hosting the Open was a “tribute to the people of Northern Ireland”.

Speaking to the PA news agency at the tournament on Sunday, Mr Mitchell said: “It is a great pleasure for me to return to Northern Ireland at any time.

“I spent six years here working towards peace and I’ve had the pleasure of coming back often since then.

“This is a special treat for me because my son Andrew, who was born during the time I worked in Northern Ireland, is a very good golfer and very much interested in golf.

“And so the chance to travel with him back to Northern Ireland and to be at the Open is really, for me, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

The 91-year-old said: “We’ve had a great time, he walked the entire course yesterday. I couldn’t do that, but I enjoyed watching the golfers.”

Mr Mitchell said he was hoping for a “great outcome” on the final day of the Open.

He said: “For me, although I’m an American and proud of it, always will be, a very large part of my heart and my emotions will always be in Northern Ireland with the great people here.”

Asked about the progress made in Northern Ireland since the peace process, which now saw the region hosting high-profile international sporting events, Mr Mitchell said: “I think too many people – here and elsewhere – associate Northern Ireland with political violence and upheaval.

“But in fact, as we’ve seen over the last quarter-century, the people of Northern Ireland are energetic, intelligent, active and I think it is a great place to live, work, visit – whether you’re here to watch a golf tournament or do anything else.

“So I think it is, in a way, a tribute to the people of Northern Ireland that the Open is here again and hopefully will be back again often.”

He said: “It is pretty hard to top Portrush on a beautiful weekend as has been the case this weekend, and so I look forward to coming back again.”