Loyalist band snubs €23k offer to postpone parade that clashes with Open at Portrush
Liam Tunney and Adam McKendry
A loyalist band whose annual parade clashes with the 153rd Open Golf Championship in Portrush was offered, and rejected, £20,000 (€23,000) to postpone its event.
More than 60 bands and 2,000 people are expected to march through the town as part of a Portrush Sons of Ulster parade on Saturday July 19, which would coincide with the day's golfing action coming to a close.
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The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
The Open make major broadcast change with never-seen-before live TV feature to delight golf fans at Royal Portrush
THE OPEN have made a never-seen-before major broadcasting change. The 153rd edition of the world's oldest golf tournament heads to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland this week. Advertisement 3 A Spidercam will be in operation above the 18th green at Royal Portrush Credit: PA 3 Fans watching The Open on TV will be treated to the new perspective Credit: PA And fans watching the action on TV will be treated to a brand-new feature. That is because, as reported by The camera will be attached to four 25m-tall pylons. And the introduction will give new viewing angles and perspectives of the 18th green - where the Claret Jug will be won on Sunday. Advertisement READ MORE ON GOLF The report adds the R&A informed the players about the plans last week. And while there were some concerns about possible distractions, it is said no official complaints about the Spidercam were submitted. The Spidercam's footage will be available for broadcast partners including Sky Sports in the UK and NBC in America. It will be supplemented by existing cameras such as aerial drones and bunker cams. Advertisement Most read in Golf CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS The remote-controlled Spidercam has proven a major success in other sports such as football, rugby and cricket. And the R&A's head of broadcasting and media rights, Paul Sutcliffe, said: 'It's not often The Open is the first to do something, as usually innovations are made by the Tours before being introduced by the Majors, so this is really exciting. Xander Schauffele jokes he was 'trending towards an alcoholic,' but he's happy to be back in Scotland 'Portrush is one of the few venues without a clubhouse on the 18th green so that gave us a unique opportunity. Advertisement 'With more space around the green we have been able to install technology. "There will be some wires around the green, but the camera will retract to the grandstand before each player's second shot so we're confident there will be no interference. '2019 was one of the iconic Opens with the "It's the greatest walk in golf and should be very special.' Advertisement 3 The lack of clubhouse beside the 18th green made the innovation possible Credit: PA
RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Shane Lowry aims to write another major chapter in his career
Shane Lowry couldn't escape his past achievements, even if he wanted to this week. The 2019 Open Championship winner is back at the scene of the biggest triumph of his career as he returns to the place where he claimed the Claret Jug. Six years on from Lowry's victory, the first by an Irishman on home soil, Royal Portrush is again the venue for the Open. The Offaly man is certain to be one of the most followed golfers on the course and he's keeping an eye on everyone making their way there from the side of a house. A huge mural commemorating the 2019 win was unveiled a year ago close to the course and Lowry is still struggling to come to terms with the sight of himself up there. " The mural? It's never not going to be weird to me to be painted on the side of a wall," he told RTÉ Sport. "It's very cool that the R&A have acknowledged what I achieved, and the local people have acknowledged what I achieved six years ago, because as an Irish person to do what I did was cool. " That drive into Portrush will never get old and hopefully I'll be coming back for a few more Opens here as well. I really feel at home here and I'm excited for the week." While Lowry is happy to reminisce on past glories, he's eager to write another major chapter in his career and believes he's in good shape to do that this week. "What I did in 2019 was obviously very special," he said. "It's something that no matter what I do, I'll always have that. "It's something that when I was growing up as a kid, I wouldn't have even dreamed of that because a dream that big is normally going to be a let-down. "I think I just have to go out there this week and try and be myself and try and allow myself to play good golf. I feel like I'm playing some of the best golf in my career this year and I think if I just allow myself to keep doing that, you never know what could happen. "I pride myself on putting myself in position on Saturday afternoons at majors and when the tough tournaments get going, that's when I feel like I'm at my best. It's going to be like that this week, it's going to be hard. "I just want to get off to a good start, we all do. It will be like a tough enough mental battle for me to get there, but I think I'll be fine once Thursday morning comes. "I'm getting older, so I feel like I need to do more to prepare and be a better version of myself. "I feel like I've done that very well over the last number of years and I've prepared as good as I can for this. There's nothing else I can do."
Extra.ie
11 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Rory McIlroy's old back garden is still a putting green -- and it's as quick as lightning!
The man at the door is a kind and friendly sort. He's also not much of a golf fan, but there's an artificial putting green in his back garden, and occasionally it draws strangers to his house on the corner of Strathearn Court and Belfast Road. This is Hollywood, where a star was born 36 years ago, and an hour or so north is Royal Portrush, where that same guy will challenge for the Claret Jug this week. The noise and fuss will be off the scale for Rory McIlroy. However, the interest in this property will be warm rather than frenzied. If Aaron Williamson does check on the scores, his curiosity will be mainly driven by the quirks of one fact: he lives in the house where McIlroy grew up. Pic: Stuart Kerr/R&A/R&A via Getty Images) Hence the garden putting green, installed by McIlroy's dad, Gerry, after they moved in when his son was four, and why pilgrims turn up on Williamson's doorstep every now and then. 'I get the knock on the door from time to time,' he told me on Sunday afternoon, while McIlroy was working his way towards finishing second at the Scottish Open. 'It really isn't very often that someone comes by to see it, but whenever it was that he won the Masters, there was a flurry of interest.' Williamson has been here since 2021, living in the four-bedroom semi with his wife, two children and dog. He's the pastor at a Baptist church a couple of hundred yards up the street, and it bemuses him more than anything else that he lives on what might be deemed a heritage site. Pic: Richard Heathcote/R&A/R&A via Getty Images) 'I find it quite funny and surreal because none of us are big golfers,' he said. 'I suppose it's a nice story to tell. We did a charity event after the Masters because there was quite a bit of interest and more knocks than usual. We almost felt we wanted to release the tension by opening it up. 'A neighbour runs a charity called The Big House, so we said if people paid a fiver, they could come and play a few putts and have a coffee. That was a week after the Masters, and it was an awful day for weather, but maybe 50 people came. The putting green is part of our lives, I suppose! 'Rory has done so well for himself and everyone here is very fond of him. It is nice to sometimes think he was stood out there practising putts to win the Open.' Pic: Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images) Sport was invited to have a go, so we set up a putt at a similar range to the four-footer McIlroy drained on that fabulous night at Augusta three months ago. Misreading the line and length, two charged by the hole, and one dropped — It's lightning fast. 'That's because it's a bit worn out by now,' said Williamson. Gerry and his wife, Rosie, left for another part of the small town more than 20 years ago, when their prodigy son was in his mid-teens. Each time it has changed hands, no one has had the heart to turf over the artificial surface and its six cups. 'We were aware when we were buying it that it would almost be our responsibility to look after it,' Williamson said. To be honest, there have been times when we would love to put some grass out there but it doesn't feel quite right! It's a bit of a catch-22!' Pic: CJ Gunther/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Williamson has not met McIlroy, but like most in this spot east of Belfast, where the population barely touches 12,000, they all know Holywood is synonymous with their golfing son. The welcome sign off the A2 makes reference to the 'home of Rory McIlroy', and for McIlroy's parents, it is still home. 'When he comes back here, we try not to make a fuss of him, just so it can be a place where everything is comfortable, normal, and he can just be Rory,' said Ruth Watt, the ladies' captain at Holywood Golf Club. It's where Gerry, a scratch golfer, worked as a barman, and his son learned the game. McIlroy's parents stop in at the golf club most weeks, and their son visits when he can. His home has been in Florida for more than a decade, and his newest property is in Wentworth, but Hollywood, says Watt, will 'always be home'. The car park keeps a permanent parking space for him; members say he stumped up £750,000 for their gym and substantially more for other renovations. 'He came in and used the gym after the Masters,' said Watt. A trove of his memorabilia, from golf bags to signed flags and replica trophies, are so prominent in the clubhouse that they sell tours to American tourists. In the bar, there is also a framed scorecard from his course-record 61 at Portrush as a 16-year-old. 'I think it's nice for him to have a place where he knows he can escape,' said Trevor Heaven, the men's captain. 'Everyone here knows Rory and his family and we're all proud. It's good for him to have a spot to go where he doesn't have the pressure he might have out there.' There's a nook at the Dirty Duck pub, beneath a signed painting of McIlroy, where he used to meet his mates. The barman says he hasn't been in for a few years, but directed Sport to Neds, next to the maypole that has stood since the 1700s. An 'old man pub', I'm told. The locals confirm McIlroy is in semi-regularly when he's home, and same goes for Coffee Yard just up the street. 'He's a gent and when he's here, he's just Rory to us,' said Martin Gleason at the bar in Neds. 'No one makes a mad fuss about it.' The fuss at Portrush will be significant this week. McIlroy spoke about it yesterday, explaining how the 2019 Open was so overwhelming that he couldn't handle the expectations – he shot 79 in his first round and missed the cut. Returning as a Master's champion, and finally with a spring in his step after three months of poor form, he reckons he will process it better.
