Portmarnock Golf Club

Portmarnock Golf Club
Aerial View of Portmarnock Golf Club and peninsula
Portmarnock Golf Club is located in Dublin
Portmarnock Golf Club
Location in Greater Dublin
Club information
Coordinates53°24′25″N 6°07′26″W / 53.407°N 6.124°W / 53.407; -6.124
LocationPortmarnock, County Dublin, Ireland
Established1894
TypePrivate
Total holes27
Websitewww.portmarnockgolfclub.ie
Championship Course
Designed byWilliam Pickeman
Par72
Length7,463 yards (6,824 m)
Course record68 - James Fox, Anton Albers

Portmarnock Golf Club is a golf club in Portmarnock, north County Dublin, Ireland. Its 27-hole links occupies a peninsula beside the Irish Sea, with the Championship Course often included in lists of the top 100 golf courses in the world.

History

Golf Links, c.1900

On Christmas Eve 1893, an insurance broker named W. C. Pickeman and his friend George Ross rowed over from Sutton to Portmarnock peninsula to explore the possibility of creating a golf links. The peninsula is about two miles long and covers over 500 acres. The course opened on Saint Stephen's Day 1894 with nine holes. It was extended to eighteen holes in 1896 with a new clubhouse and a further nine holes were added in 1971. The championship course follows the original layout although considerably lengthened (over 7,500 yards of the Championship tees). The only major change in the routing was the insertion in 1927 of a new, now famous par three, the 15th hole.

1923 Ladies' Golf Final in Portmarnock. "Janet" Jackson beat Lady Babington

In the 20th century, Portmarnock was one of the most socially exclusive golf clubs in the state, along with Royal Dublin Golf Club further south.[1][2][3] John A. Costello was club captain in 1948 when elected Taoiseach; according to Charles Patrick Graves, "for twenty years he had played the same four ball with the chairman of the Electricity Supply Board, one of the City Sheriffs, and the chairman of the Revenue Commissioners".[4] While the position changed somewhat when the Celtic Tiger spawned a new range of commercially focused golf resorts such as the K Club and Mount Juliet,[2] in 2009, Nial Fennelly said Portmarnock was "now the first and greatest of Irish golf clubs".[5]

Notable events hosted

Portmarnock was the venue for the first Irish Open in 1927, and has hosted the tournament on many occasions since, including 13 following its revival in 1975.[6] Many other important golf tournaments have been held at the club, including the The [British] Amateur Championship in 1949 and 2019, the Walker Cup in 1991, and the Canada Cup in 1960.

In October 2023 The R&A said that they were "keen to investigate the possibility" of Portmarnock hosting the [British] Open Championship or Women's [British] Open, making it the first time either tournament would be held outside of the United Kingdom.[7] Points in its favour are space for large spectator galleries, and transport links to Dublin Airport via the M50 and Dublin city centre and points north via Portmarnock railway station.[8] In 2024, the then Irish government agreed to support Portmarnock's candidacy, a position maintained by the government elected in 2025.[9]

Summary

Women members

Portmarnock's membership was restricted to "gentlemen" until 2021.[10][11] The policy had been controversial since the 1980s. The club's tradition of conferring honorary membership on the United States Ambassador to Ireland was ended in 1987 when Margaret Heckler became the first women to hold the office; she said later, "I was very disappointed ... Privately they sent word to me that if I wished friends to go there it was fine and they would be very cordially received, but it was the matter of the recognition of the office."[12] It was similarly noted after the 1990 election of Mary Robinson as President of Ireland that her predecessor, Patrick Hillery, had been given honorary life membership after his 1976 appointment; however, no earlier President was so honoured, and Hillery had been a longstanding ordinary member.[1]

The Irish Open was last staged at the course in 2003, after which the Government of Ireland instigated a policy of withholding public funding for events hosted by single-sex venues.[10] The same year, the Equality Authority brought case in the Dublin District Court under the Equal Status Act 2000 (ESA). The club manager told the court that since the ESA was passed, members had three times discussed and "overwhelmingly" opposed allowing women members.[13] In 2004 the court held that Portmarnock was a "discriminating club" within the meaning of the ESA, and the club's drinks licence was suspended for seven days.[14][15]

The club appealed the 2004 decision and it was overturned in the High Court in 2005,[16][17] which ruled that, although the club's admissions policy met the criterion of a discriminating club in ESA section 8(2)(a)(ii),[18] Portmarnock satisfied the exception in ESA section 9(1)(a)(i) for clubs whose "principal purpose is to cater only for the needs of persons of a particular gender".[15][19] In 2009 the Supreme Court upheld the High Court decision by a 3–2 majority.[20][21]

On 9 September 2016, the R&A announced that the 2019 Amateur Championship would be at Portmarnock, adding that its recent decision not to host the Open at single-sex clubs would also apply in future to the Amateur, but that it would fulfil a prior commitment given to Portmarnock for 2019.[22]

In May 2021, the club's existing membership voted to allow women members, by 83.4% to 16.6%.[10][11] The first woman members were elected in 2022.[8]

Honours

References

  1. ^ a b Gilleece, Dermot (12 November 1990). "No facility for golf club to honour Robinson". The Irish Times. p. 4. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b McWilliams, David (2008). The Pope's children : the Irish economic triumph and the rise of Ireland's new elite. Hoboken: Wiley. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-470-22641-4.
  3. ^ Ross, Shane (2009). The bankers : how the banks brought Ireland to its knees. Dublin: Penguin Ireland. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-84488-216-8.
  4. ^ Graves, Charles (1949). Ireland Revisited. London: Hutchinson. p. 44.
  5. ^ [2009] IESC 73; Judgment delivered the 3rd day of November 2009 by Mr Justice Fennelly; § 58
  6. ^ "Nissan Irish Open - Past Winners". europeantour.com. Retrieved 21 October 2008.
  7. ^ "Portmarnock: R&A keen to explore possible Open or Women's Open at Dublin course". BBC Sport. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  8. ^ a b McQuinn, Cormac (21 October 2024). "Portmarnock Golf Club may take swing at hosting Women's Open". The Irish Times. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  9. ^ McConalogue, Charlie (8 May 2025). "Sports Events [Questions (151)]". Parliamentary Questions (34th Dáil). Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Reid, Philip (26 May 2021). "Portmarnock's decision could lead to future hosting of Open Championship". The Irish Times. p. 21. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  11. ^ a b Fletcher, Laura (26 May 2021). "Portmarnock Golf Club to allow female members". RTÉ.ie.
  12. ^
  13. ^ Kelly, Olivia (29 November 2003). "Portmarnock captain says ban on women expresses 'diversity'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Portmarnock golf club breaches equality laws". RTÉ News. 20 February 2004. Retrieved 21 October 2008.
  15. ^ a b Crowley, Niall (2006). An ambition for equality. Irish Academic Press: Dublin. pp. 41–44. ISBN 978-0-7165-3381-8 – via Internet Archive.
  16. ^ Equality Authority v. Portmarnock Golf Club & Ors [2005] IEHC H235 (10 June 2005)
  17. ^ "Equality Authority may appeal golf club ruling". RTÉ News. 10 June 2005. Retrieved 21 October 2008.
  18. ^ "No Women (and Dogs) Allowed: A Comparative Analysis of Discriminating Private Golf Clubs in the United States, Ireland, and England". Washington University Global Studies Law Review. 6.
  19. ^ "Portmarnock Golf club wins discrimination case". The Irish Times. 10 June 2005. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  20. ^ [2009] IESC 73
  21. ^ "Supreme Court upholds golf club ban". RTÉ News. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  22. ^ Reid, Philip (9 September 2016). "Portmarnock to host Amateur Championship despite men-only policy". The Irish Times. p. 14. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  23. ^ Heath, Elliott (25 May 2022). "Top 100 Golf Courses UK and Ireland 2021/22". Golf Monthly Magazine. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  24. ^ Duncan, Derek; Whitten, Ron. "Ranking: World's 100 Greatest Golf Courses". Golf Digest. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  25. ^ "Top 100 Courses in the World: GOLF's 2021–22 ranking of the best designs on the planet". Golf Magazine. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2022.

Sources

  • Equality Authority -v- Portmarnock Golf Club & ors and Cuddy & anor -v- Equality Authority & ors [2009] IESC 73 (3 November 2009)
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