‘Hard negotiations’ secured 2026 Ryder Cup for Ireland, says Paul McGinley

Winning Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley has revealed it took some “hard negotiations” for Adare Manor to get the 2026 match after a spell when that bid had been “a little bit dodgy”.

Paul McGinley in action during the first round of the Senior Open Presented by Rolex at Royal Lytham. Picture: Getty Images

McGinley, who sits on a new Ryder Cup committee, gave his reaction to the County Limerick venue being announced as the second Irish course to stage the event after The K Club following his opening round in the Senior Open at Royal Lytham.

“It’s a great thrill,” said McGinley, who led Europe to a thumping triumph at Gleneagles in 2014. “There have been a lot of rumours about it the last year. I was involved a bit and it didn’t get over the line easily. A lot of hard negotiations took place.

“Four, five, six weeks ago, things were a little bit dodgy, but some hard negotiations happened in the last month and Irish success obviously helped.”

Adare Manor in County Limerick has been awarded the 2026 Ryder Cup. Picture: PA

In that space of time, Irish golfers won both The Open and The Amateur as Shane Lowry and James Sugrue recorded brilliant wins at Royal Portrush and Portmarnock respectively.

The return of The Open to Royal Portrush for the first time since 1951 was a sell-out while the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, hosted by McGinley at Lahinch, was also a huge success.

“Yeah, we are on a run, aren’t we,” added McGinley. “ We won the Amateur, follow that on a month later with Shane and such a great win for him, the Irish Open at Lahinch and now the Ryder Cup. Stars are shining on Ireland for sure.

“To have such a big high-profile event on the horizon is something to look forward to. In life, we all like something to look forward to, and certainly the country of Ireland looking forward very much much to 2026.”

Adare Manor, which is owned by JP McManus, underwent an extensive renovation two years ago and has been earning rave reviews, led by Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy when they paid a visit last year.

“JP has created something amazing down there and it got voted best hotel in the world last year,” observed McGinley. “Tom Fazio golf course, I was involved with Pádraig in the design of it and went down and had a look at what he was doing and gave some feedback.

“I think it’s a great platform to host one of the biggest sporting events in the world now, you’d have to say.

There’s a lot of competition to get the Ryder Cup to a country, and certainly from a European perspective, there’s a lot of competition out there.

“Yes, JP has created a fabulous platform for us, but the Irish Government has stepped up to the plate for it to happen, and thankfully they did.

“I was involved a bit with those talks, and they negotiated hard, but fair. I think the success that we’ve had of The Irish Open, the way it’s been promoted around the world, sellout crowds, sellout crowds in Portrush, that has proved to the Irish government that this is something that the people of Ireland want.

“Shane’s win was the icing on the top, and you know, the government sees this as a big opportunity to promote one of the biggest tourist attractions in Ireland, which is links golf courses, and all golf courses.

“We have got JP’s hotel, as well. They see it as an investment. It’s not money spent. It’s putting money out to get money back, and they will get it back by a multiple, that’s for sure.”

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