The Cabinet has today approved support for Ireland to host The Ryder Cup in 2026. This will be the first time in 20 years, and the second time in its history, that The Ryder Cup will be hosted here. The Ryder Cup is Golf’s premier team contest and will be held at Adare Manor.
The Government believes in supporting major events when they bring an economic, sporting and international benefit to Ireland. The Ryder Cup will provide us with an opportunity to showcase the best of Ireland both as a tourist and sporting destination.
The Ryder Cup has grown considerably as an event since the last time Ireland hosted it in Straffan in 2006. The Ryder Cup in Paris had 270,000 spectators from 90 countries. The global reach of the 2018 Ryder Cup has also increased as demonstrated by a significant increase in social media engagement and broadcast viewing figures.
Announcing the support, the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, TD commented:
“I am delighted that Ireland will be the host of The Ryder Cup in 2026. It is great news for Ireland, and for County Limerick and the west of Ireland in particular.
“This news comes at the end of an historic week for golf on the island of Ireland, following the hugely successful hosting of the Open Championship by Royal Portrush Golf Club, and the historic victory by one of Ireland’s most popular sporting heroes, Shane Lowry.
“Shane’s victory is one of many great achievements by Irish golfers, not just in Major Championships but also in The Ryder Cup. Over the years, Irish captains and Irish players have played a huge role in the success of the European team.
“I am sure that when The Ryder Cup comes to Adare, we will see many more great sporting memories created, and great sporting friendships forged. It will be a fantastic occasion for everyone on the island of Ireland, and for the many visitors from both sides of the Atlantic who can look forward to another great Irish welcome.”
Commenting on the announcement, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross T.D. stated:
“The passion of Irish people for golf across the island is well known and that was reinforced by the fantastic crowds at last Sunday’s Open Championship in Portrush and the joy at Shane’s great victory. Hosting The Ryder Cup here will be a great occasion for Irish golf and Irish tourism. The Ryder Cup in 2026 will be a must go event for golf fans when we expect thousands of overseas visitors to come to Ireland.”
The news was further welcomed by Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin, T.D. who stated:
“It's been a fantastic week for golf in Ireland following Shane Lowry's heroic win in Portrush. The announcement of The Ryder Cup for Ireland in 2026 is further great news and is a wonderful honour for all of us in Ireland, North and South. It's a special honour for the people of Munster, a province steeped in sporting culture, where this marvellous global event will be embraced by the people to make 2026 the greatest ever tournament in the history of The Ryder Cup.”
Notes to Editors on Ryder Cup 2026
- The Ryder Cup is the premier golf team event in the world. The event comprises a series of “matchplay” matches played between teams representing Europe and the USA over three days. The event is held on a biennial basis and hosting the event alternates between Europe and the USA. Ireland previously hosted the event in 2006 at the K Club, Co. Kildare. The most recent Ryder Cup was hosted in Paris in October 2018 and the next event is scheduled for Whistling Straits in Wisconsin in 2020. Ireland has only hosted the event once, in 2006 in the K Club in Straffan.
- The event continues to grow and the Ryder Cup in Paris had 270,000 spectators from 90 countries (including France, UK, the USA; Germany; Netherlands; Ireland; Belgium; Switzerland; Spain; Sweden and Denmark) and they generated 220,000 commercial bed nights. The global reach of the 2018 Ryder Cup has also increased as demonstrated by a significant increase in social media engagement, with more than 22 billion global impressions across the week, while broadcast viewing figures were also up compared to the 2014 contest at Gleneagles.
- Last September, the Professional Golf Association (PGA) of the European Tour invited Minister Ross to attend the Ryder Cup in Paris to discuss the possibility or Ireland hosting the Ryder Cup in 2026. The Tour said that they would like to bring the Ryder Cup to Adare Manor in 2026. While they had a number of interested parties, if agreement could be reached with Ireland, they would not run a competitive process seeking bids from other countries. Competitive processes were used for the 2018 (Paris) and 2022 (Rome) events. Specifically, the Tour wished to discuss the extent and likelihood of Government support.
- Following on from that the Taoiseach and Minister Ross met with Tour Executives in November and indicated a willingness to support the proposal that would work for both Ireland and the European Tour. Since November, officials from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, supported by Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, have engaged in detailed discussions with the Tour to scope out the impact of the tournament and support necessary from Government.
- As part of this a pre-event economic impact study was commissioned by Fáilte Ireland on behalf of the Department, on hosting the Ryder Cup in Adare in 2026. The economic impact study produced a range of returns in regard to spend in Ireland arising from the event based on low, core and high return scenarios. Acknowledging that the event is seven years away, the study concluded that in terms of impact, the projected spend in the Irish economy (including direct, indirect and induced impact) would be in the range of €90m to €161m. The tax take from RC 2026 is estimated to be in the range of €13m to €23m. The event would also have a strong regional impact supporting jobs, particularly in the Mid West and South West. The study estimates 1,220 full time jobs would be created due to the event.
- The event has a large international profile with a potential to be broadcast to 375m homes, 5,000 hours of broadcasting on 50 different channels, 2,000 journalists, 73,000 articles about Ryder Cup published, and website and social media views. There would also be an estimated promotional value for Ireland of hosting the event (referred to as Equivalent Advertising Value (EAV)) of around €100m.
- The Government and the Tour have now agreed a financial support package comprising a License Fee, investment in Irish Golf Tour Events and Marketing. The precise details are commercially sensitive for the European Tour. The State will also support the event through the provision of local authority and public services such as policing and transport as well as supporting the staging of fanzones and promotional events such as the opening ceremony. There will also be a programme of marketing to maximise the impact of the event for Ireland in terms of profile, attendance and long term legacy.
- All of the costs in making the course suitable to host the event would be borne by Adare Manor.