Fáilte Ireland hosted the tenth Ireland Golf Convention at Dromoland Castle in Co. Clare on Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 October 2026, with the International Association of Golf Tour Operators and Tourism Northern Ireland. Sixty international golf tour operators from 16 countries attended, and 80 tourism and golf suppliers negotiated with them.
The convention ran about 1,800 pre-scheduled appointments across the two days. That is roughly 30 appointments for each buyer. Fáilte Ireland states the format exists to generate tourism business and raise overseas visitor numbers.
What the buyers did between appointments
The organisers scheduled familiarisation visits along the Wild Atlantic Way and rounds on Irish courses around the appointment block. Tourism bodies presented the Curracloe Links project in County Wexford at the event.
David Murphy, operations and business development at the Irish operator Rose Travel, said the operational side decides a golf trip. Airport arrivals, luggage and golf clubs, tee times, hotel movements, touring days and driver hours all have to work together, he said. He said Rose Travel attends the convention to build its 2027 programmes.
The Ryder Cup 2027 backdrop
Ireland hosts the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in County Limerick from 13 to 19 September 2027. Match play runs from Friday 17 to Sunday 19 September. The staging is the contest's hundredth anniversary and the second held in Ireland.
The venue and its redevelopment
Dromoland Castle is a five-star property on five hundred acres at Newmarket-on-Fergus, fifteen minutes by road from Shannon Airport. The resort announced a €55 million master-plan redevelopment at the convention. Work starts in November 2026 and covers the castle, the golf club facilities and new stable accommodation.
The estate's 18-hole, par 72 championship parkland course was designed by Ron Kirby and J.B. Carr. The estate, the golf club and the Golf Academy stayed open through the convention. The property is a member of Preferred Hotels Worldwide and Ireland's Blue Book.