Trump Visits Ireland Golf Course Embroiled in Environmental Lawsuit
Former President Donald Trump is expected to touch down in Ireland on Wednesday to visit his golf course on the country's west coast in Doonbeg, County Clare.
Trump's property in Ireland is currently at the center of a legal dispute brought by the Friends of the Irish Environment. The non-profit group, which seeks to ensure proper implementation of environmental law in the country, is suing the company behind Trump's course over the construction of a fence that FIE said would cause "profound and irreversible environmental damage" to the dunes, which are on a Natura 2000 site, a network of protected areas in the European Union.
The former president's visit to Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Doonbeg Ireland comes less than two weeks before the case is set to appear before a court on May 15.
On Monday, FIE told Newsweek that since the lawsuit was filed, the fence that was erected at the top of the beach was dismantled, although there are other fences that still need to be removed.
Trump himself is no longer the director of the company behind the Irish resort, TIGL Ireland Enterprise Limited, but his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, remain on the board as directors. Newsweek has reached out to the Trump Organization via email for comment.
Earlier this week, Trump appeared in Aberdeen, Scotland, to break ground for his second golf course, which is dedicated to his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born on the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles and who "loved Scotland."
"Will be leaving for Scotland & Ireland soon in order to see and inspect my great properties there," the former president wrote on Truth Social ahead of his trip. "The golf courses and hotels are among the greatest in the world – Turnberry and Aberdeen, in Scotland, and Doonbeg, in Ireland."
His original trip to Scotland and Ireland was planned for the beginning of April, but his travel plans were postponed so that he could appear for his arraignment in New York City following the indictment related to hush money payments he allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
On Sunday, the British daily newspaper The Times reported that the residents of Doonbeg "couldn't be happier" that Trump was stopping by and that Clare County "is still Donald Trump country."
FIE agreed with those reports, telling Newsweek that the population is "wildly pro-Trump" and that the organization has had "little local support" for its efforts to ensure that the golf course complies with the environmental protections that are designated under the EU Habitats Directive.
