Robust discussions between the organizers of last month’s JP McManus Pro-Am golf spectacle in Adare, Co Limerick, and An Garda Síochána resulted in a reduced garda presence of just 12 officers policing inside the high-profile event.
he world’s most famous golfers, including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, descended on Adare Manor to play golf alongside celebrities including Hollywood actor Bill Murray and former One Direction star Niall Horan at the two-day charity event.
Senior sources told the Sunday Independent there were a series of discussions on how gardaí would protect the golfers and celebrities from any potential threats. It is understood gardaí wanted a “high number” of officers — uniform and plain-clothes — but faced opposition from the organizers.
The number of gardaí on duty at the event, on July 4-5, was eventually agreed at just 12.
Two of these officers were in uniform in a specific garda security box, while 10 plain-clothes officers mingled among the 40,000 spectators.
However, another 80 gardaí provided security along the route to Adare Manor, ensuring the star participants, many of whom arrived by private jet, reached the venue without incident.
It is understood the organizers of the Pro-Am did not want uniformed gardaí to be visible.
“There are optics involved. There was a view that it might not look great to have a lot of gardaí in uniforms. There were discussions, and an agreement was reached,” a source said.
Separate sources also say there were “concerns raised” about the professionalism of a small number of gardaí at previous Pro-Ams, in terms of “enjoying the event” rather than treating it as “a day’s work”.
A spokesperson for the event was contacted but declined to comment.
All large-scale public events, such as music festivals and national sports events, have a police presence. The organizers are usually charged a fee for this, as it is carried out outside of registered garda working hours.
However, as the JP McManus Pro-Am was a charity event, the garda security costs were covered by An Garda Síochána.