Ireland doesn’t take too many things seriously—except for making sure you’ll want to come back. Show up with a thick skin, a positive attitude and your best rain gear, and you’re guaranteed to have a great time. Join Matt Ginella and his crew as they venture through the South and Northwest regions of Ireland, stopping along the way to play the most notable golf courses, make off-course excursions, and sit down with local storytellers.
“Discovery” is the theme for part 2 of Ginella’s journey through Ireland with a breath-taking exploration of the North and Northwest including Carne, Cruit Island, Nairn & Portnoo, Rosapenna, Castlerock and Royal Portrush.
With experiences like Titanic Belfast and courses like Royal County Down, Royal Portrush and Ardglass, Northern Ireland is on the rise. Here, Matt Ginella spends time with locals, head pros, actors and architects as he swings through one of the top pockets of golf in the United Kingdom.
Dublin is one of the greatest cities in the world. A confluence of cultures and characters that leaves everyone happy and laughing about a shot they hit, someone they met or a story they heard. From a chilly dip in the Dublin Bay, the search for the “perfect pint” and getting to play courses like Portmarnock and The Island, on this trip to Dublin, Matt Ginella and his crew sample some of the more memorable experiences the city has to offer.
Although golf was played on property as far back as the 1850s, Portmarnock Links—the resort and course—has always been in the long shadow of its neighbor, the Portmarnock Golf Club. As of Oct. 3, Portmarnock Links has been rechristened as the Jameson Golf Links at the Portmarnock Resort. “It’s like a lot of the links courses in St. Andrews where you’re literally walking and playing in history,” says Moira Cassidy, a local historian and the manager of resort experiences. “Renaming it the Jameson Golf Links, that’s really exciting, because Everyone knows about Jameson whiskey, but not everyone knows about the family and their influence on golf in Ireland,” says Cassidy. The Fire Pit has been hired to help tell their story. On a visit in July, and as you can see in the short video above, we met with several members of leadership and the staff to better understand the past, present and future of Jameson Golf Links at Portmarnock Resort.
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