It’s a very rare occasion for Northern Ireland to host major international sporting events. Of course, for several decades, the reasons for that were quite obvious. But coming out of the Troubles in the late 1990s, the question moved on from politics to infrastructure. It took a lot of will and hard work from many different parties to get the 2019 Open to come to Royal Portrush, and in many ways it felt like a watershed moment for the region on the international stage. It was firmly part of a renewed optimism in the region, a confidence that Northern Ireland could hold world-class events.
Fast forward to 2024, and there is a row rumbling over Euro 2028. The story is somewhat complicated, but we can break it down as simply as possible. Euro 2028 will be hosted across the UK and Ireland. Belfast was chosen as one of the host cities, yet it does not have a stadium that is fit for the purpose. The mooted solution was to rebuild Casement Park, a Gaelic football stadium on the outskirts of West Belfast. While the rebuild would cost a pretty penny, the main sticking point was one of infighting. Gaelic games are associated with one side of the political divide in Northern Ireland, so there was pushback from the Unionist community. And, thus, effectively, we hit a stalemate. And it looks like Belfast and Northern Ireland will miss out.
The Open’s return is a validation of hard work
To say there is disappointment is an understatement. As we said, there was renewed optimism and a lot of work behind the scenes to make Northern Ireland a desirable destination for elite sporting events. Missing out hurts. It’s for that reason the return of The Open next year feels so special. It feels like a validation of getting things right. 2019 was a huge success, and not just in a sporting sense: if you have driven the back roads around the North Antrim coast before you will know what we mean. The fact that the region was able to bring tens of thousands of fans, feed them, house them, and send them home happy was a logistical marvel.
Royal Portrush is a brilliant course, and it offers unique challenges to some players. Popular players like Rory McIlroy (the proverbial roof will come off if he wins in 2025) and Shane Lowry will be heavily backed again in the golf betting to get their hands on the Claret Jug, but the occasion itself will be much greater than the golf. The experience of hosting the Open before will also benefit the organisers and stakeholders in the local community. They’ll be wiser to the needs of fans, ensuring things go a little more smoothly.
More doors will open for Northern Irish golf
The Royal Portrush Club started pursuing the hosting rights to the 2019 Open back in 2006. It was a long, arduous 13-year process to make it happen. The fact it is coming back six years later is a tremendous vindication of their work. It is, of course, about more than Portrush. The region has shown that it can put on a show, and that might offer other opportunities. Royal County Down, Newcastle, for example, often ranks among the top golf courses in the world. It’s stunning, nestled between the arms of the Mourne Mountains. There are serious logistical challenges to hosting The Open there, but the success of Portrush will put the question on the table for the future.
And that’s what the return of the Open next summer means. It’s not about 2025; it’s about the future. It’s not even about golf. If you talk to any Northern Irish golf fan who lived through the 1970s and 1980s, they will tell you how surreal it was to see the greats of the game land on the north coast in 2019. The fact they are coming back again feels all the more special, a validation that there is much more to come from Northern Ireland.
