Final of a three part series on the Irish Open
Building a World Class sporting facility
Based on engineering background in County Tyrone
The 2013 Irish Open was beamed around the world in June, adding lustre to the reputation of Carton House which was hosting the event for the third time.
The resort has placed sport at its heart since first being bought by the present owners in 1977 and Paul Casey and his fellow professionals on the European Tour are far from being the only stars to use it.
The Mallaghan family have invested well over €100 million in Carton House over the past two decades but like any sporting success the triumph of last weekend was built on the foundation of much effort and many setbacks.
Lee is now in his mid 70’s and built his fortune through engineering. One of four brothers growing up on a farm in Pomeroy, County Tyrone he was responsible for bringing water and electricity to the farm and initially making it a model of the time when only a teenager.
He went on to found Powerscreen which developed mining and screening equipment that turned it into one of Northern Ireland’s largest engineering groups.
The founders diversified in the mid 1970’s by buying the 1100 acre Carton House demesne which was at the time a derelict ‘big house’ on a dairy farm. The estate had been home to the Fitzgerald Family through many centuries of Irish history before being sold by one descendant to pay off debts and being in private hands since.
They saw the potential it might have and set about an ambitious plan to turn it into the venue it is today.
Mallaghan and the original founders sold Powerscreen in 1986 and he devoted his energies to the estate, bringing Guinness Enterprises on board as part of an ambitious plan to develop a resort that would rival Gleneagles in Scotland as a sporting and business conference centre of excellence.
The European Tour was commissioned to design two golf courses where once the dairy herd had grazed and Mark O’Meara and Colin Montgomerie were chosen as the course designers.
Guinness withdrew as the business concentrated back on core assets in the mid 90’s but Mallaghan pressed ahead using his own money to restore the house and build the courses.
The Westin Group joined as partners in the late 90’s but 9/11 saw a collapse in the US travel market and they were forced to withdraw themselves in 2002, on the day that the O’Meara course opened for business.
The domestic economy was in full swing at the time though and provided a solid base through memberships and corporate events to justify the opening of the state of the art hotel which took in its first guests between the first two stagings of the Irish Open in 2005 and 2006.
There are also 140 private homes on the estate, including one owned by former Irish Open Champion Shane Lowry.
The credibility of the venue had been enhanced by the Golfing Union of Ireland’s move there in the early 2006 and the establishment of a 22 acre facility with a range, analysis suites and practice areas.
Soccer, Rugby and GAA facilities were added and have attracted some of the biggest names in Irish and world sport. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool and Brazil have trained there and it is the regular host to both the Irish Rugby team and inter county GAA sides including Tyrone and Dublin. Tyrone Manager Mickey Harte is a brother in law of Lee Mallaghan.
The course and resort was hailed by international media and observers over the past week with tributes paid to the management team now led by Conor Mallaghan, with John Plummer and Francis Howley on the golf side.
A decision has yet to be taken on where the 2014 Irish Open will be held but it will likely not be long before it returns to Kildare and Carton House will be to the fore.
Monday: The importance of the Irish Open in terms of Sports Tourism
Tuesday: Looking Local for Irish Open Crowds
September 19th: Sport for Business Round Table on Sports Tourism
Discover more about Golf, Sponsorship and Sports Tourism on Sport for Business by clicking on the images below:
The Story of Carton House
