Marine One, the US presidential helicopter that will transport Donald Trump between Shannon Airport and Doonbeg this week, made a test run between the two locations on Saturday.
The dummy run, lasting about 20 minutes, was carried out in preparation for Mr Trump’s arrival at Shannon Airport, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, after he arrives from London.
Bad weather would force Mr Trump and his entourage to take a more complicated and longer journey by road involving a more extensive security arrangement to protect a motorcade that is expected to be longer than 40 vehicles.
The US president will make the journey between the airport and his golf resort four times over the course of the three days that he is in Ireland.
He will travel to France via Shannon Airport for the D-Day commemorations on Thursday morning before returning to Doonbeg later that evening. He will depart from Shannon Airport for the US on Friday after playing a round of golf.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar; Minister of State for Trade and Co Clare TD Pat Breen; and Rose Hynes, chairman of Shannon Group who welcomed Mr Trump when he visited in 2014, are expected to be among the welcome party for the US president as he arrives at Shannon.
