DOONBEG, Ireland (AP) — Some people in Ireland can’t wait for U.S. President Donald Trump’s weekend visit, with its tight security and political tensions, to be over.
But one corner of the country has a lot of time for the president, whose Irish golf resort has brought jobs, tourists and the international spotlight to the village of Doonbeg on the country’s boggy, wind-lashed Atlantic coast.
Even in Doonbeg, though, Trump has his opponents, who have
staged protests and even enlisted tiny snails to try to block his golf course plans.
Trump spent much of Saturday and Sunday here, attending the Irish Open at the Trump International Golf Links. Since his organization bought the then-financially struggling resort in 2014. It has been an economic boon for the region, but also a source of friction.
The latest flashpoint is Trump’s planned ballroom — not the one at the White House, but a 320-capacity venue at the golf resort.
A group of environmentalists has tried to block construction, saying it will harm tiny narrow-mouthed whorl snails that live in the area and are protected under European Union rules.
After several years of wrangling, Clare County Council approved the ballroom in February, on condition Trump’s Irish company draws up a plan to monitor and manage the snails.
The company, which says construction will not harm the miniature mollusks, is seeking to alter the conditions, while a lone Irish objector with a history of blocking development projects has launched a new appeal to overturn planning permission. A final decision on all of that is pending.
Many local organizations supported the planning application, and some in Doonbeg see the environmental complaint as opportunistic. Local councilor Rita McInerney said that “much of the objection came from people who simply wanted to object to what Trump was doing.”
Trump's visit, a mix of work and family vacation for the president, brought road closures, hundreds of police officers and scores of protesters to the remote rural part of County Clare, some 175 miles (280 kilometers) west of Dublin.
But many people in Doonbeg say the disruption is worth it.
“This is brilliant for the west Clare area,” said Martin Kelly, who runs a local construction firm and says the Trump resort creates “a massive amount of employment.”
“We’re lucky to have it,” he said.
That’s also the view of Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, who told Trump in Dublin on Saturday that the Doonbeg course is a “valuable asset to the area” that “illustrates the strength of the economic relationship between our two countries.”
Trump's presence drew protests, though far smaller than the thousands who marched Saturday in Dublin. Dozens of people stood on Doonbeg’s main street on Sunday with Palestinian flags and placards protesting Trump’s support for the Gaza war and his polices on immigration and the environment.
Many objected to what they saw as Trump’s attempts to strong-arm smaller countries, and his insistence on Saturday that and his frequent complaints that other countries are taking advantage of the U.S. in trade relations.
“Our fear as people in Ireland is that our government will try to appease him because of the importance of foreign direct investment in Ireland,” said Sarah Clancy, who helped organize the protests in Doonbeg. “Even if we’re economically linked with the United States, we don’t see that as a reason that we can’t stand our ground, even if our government sometimes lets us down.”
Others said they oppose Trump’s policies but feel there is a limit to what anyone in Ireland, a country with a population of less than 6 million, can do.
“All of these rural coastal areas depend on tourism,” said Lily De Sylva, who works for a local community radio station. “So, yes, the Trump resort is important.
“I wouldn’t welcome him here or anywhere, but I can’t stop him.”
Paul O’Loughlin traveled from Wicklow in southeast Ireland to attend the tournament. He said some of his friends refused to come to a Trump-owned golf course.
“I don’t think us not going is going to make any difference to him,” O’Loughlin said. “I respect the protesters, I think they’re great coming down and making their point. But it’s falling on deaf ears, isn’t it?”
