Clare Hotels booked out ahead of Trump’s Doonbeg visit

Why Clare hotels are under pressure

Trump is due in Ireland on 12 and 13 September, taking in Dublin before travelling west to his golf resort on the Clare coast.

Sources across multiple agencies told the outlet there is a significant shortage of hotel rooms in the region, which is posing a challenge to the arrangements.

The Trump entourage could be as big as 1,000 people, including a US security team of as many as 200 Secret Service officers.

As things stand, the president is anticipated to arrive into Dublin on 12 September and spend a short few hours in the city meeting dignitaries and the US ambassador, Edward Walsh.

It is believed he may also visit President Catherine Connolly and Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and could call to the new US Embassy site in Ballsbridge.

That evening, Trump is expected to board Air Force One and fly to Shannon Airport, before travelling by helicopter to his International Golf Links resort in Doonbeg, which is due to host the Irish Open.

It is the same stretch of the Clare coast where the room shortage is being felt, and where Trump’s Doonbeg visit has been a talking point since it was confirmed.

Plans can and often do change with a US presidential visit. The accommodation squeeze, though, is one detail unlikely to sort itself out before September.