What a few days that was? We could paraphrase the words of the seer in Julius Caesar, ‘welcome to the Ides of September’; it was that sort of week? If you were an avid golfer then there was much to look forward to, the Irish Open at Doonbeg and the Solheim Cup in Holland, the Ladies equivalent of the Ryder Cup which will be held at Adare Manor next year. Now Irish Opens have come and gone for 100 years at Portmarnock, Druids Glen, Ballyliffin, Mt Juliet, Ballybunion, Lahinch, Portrush, K Club, Royal Co Down et al but none have captured the world media attention than Doonbeg last week and while the incredible 23 shot victory by Shane Lowry was the sporting story of the year, bar Katie at Croker, it was the arrival of US President Donald J Trump. Next stop New York where the 47th President of the United States of America arrived from on Saturday in Air Force One, the Boeing 747 donated as a gift by the Qatari Royal family recently, nice friends one might say? It wasn’t an official state visit but Trump did call on the Taoiseach and President Catherine Connolly before hosting a press conference at the US embassy in Ballsbridge where the shit really hit the fan. While the discussion on Irish Unity and a Referendum is gaining momentum daily there was no chance that the mealy mouthed Cork Taoiseach who is no Michael Collins would raise the issue. It was the visiting President, replying to questioning from the media suggested that he would love to see Irish unity and that it was the only natural solution.
