Trump visit preparations continuing apace in Co Clare
Preparations for the massive security operation being mounted for next month's visit of US President Donald Trump to Co Clare.
With less than two weeks before Air Force One carrying President Trump and the US First Lady lands at Shannon, gardaí are planning what is expected to be an unprecedented security operation.
The White House only confirmed on Tuesday night that the president will arrive in Ireland on June 5, however gardaí were deployed at Shannon Airport and Trump International Golf Links and Hotel in Doonbeg last week in anticipation of the announcement.
While uniformed and plain-clothes gardaí have been monitoring traffic entering Shannon Airport where Air Force One will land, officers are carrying out similar duties at Trump International in Doonbeg where President Trump and the First Lady will stay during their visit.
Gardaí are patrolling the 400-acre property in both marked and unmarked vehicles while officers are also monitoring traffic movements onto the site and around the hotel itself.
Members of the Defence Forces arrived at the Doonbeg property in west Clare this morning and the Army, Navy and Air Corps are expected to play a part in the plan.
Meanwhile, companies based in the vicinity of Shannon Airport have been requested to submit details of employees and other persons who are expected to visit their premises while President Trump is in the mid-west.
The Managing Director of Trump International in Doonbeg, Joe Russell, has been meeting with other hoteliers in the United States who have hosted Mr Trump in the past.
Mr Russell told this morning, that on his return from the US, hotel management will be engaging with locals to inform them of what to expect during the visit which he said “will be unlike anything experienced there before.”
