Garda to deploy 2,000 members for event

Security: Security around next week's Ryder Cup will be the biggest Garda operation of the year with 2,000 members on duty over the six days of practice and competition.

Members of the US Secret Service will also be on duty during the event at the K Club, Co Kildare, providing protection for former US presidents George Bush snr and Bill Clinton - both of whom are expected to attend.

The Defence Forces will provide support to the Garda, with bomb disposal experts on standby at the Curragh Camp, Co Kildare.

The security, like that at most other major sporting events, will be paid for from public resources.

The Garda operation has been in the planning stages for the last 12 months and will involve many of the force's specialist units.

Members of the Special Detective Unit and Emergency Response Unit will be on duty at the K Club, where they will provide armed protection to President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

The armed officers will also be protecting other VIPs such as Britain's Prince Andrew.

Both teams will also be offered armed protection.

Five hundred gardaí will be on duty at any one time, working 12-hour shifts from Tuesday morning, when practice rounds start, until Sunday night, when the competition ends.

In addition, about 700 private security guards and marshals will work on the event each day. Assistant Commissioner Dermot Jennings and Chief Supt Michael Byrnes are leading the Garda operation. Most gardaí involved are from the Carlow-Kildare division, but some back-up has been drafted in from neighbouring divisions. Onsite catering is being provided and members travelling from outside the division will be accommodated in lodgings in Co Kildare.

The Garda traffic control operation will involve Traffic Corps members on all major approach routes to the course, as well as ensuring the security of closed roads near the venue.

Garda escorts will also be provided to VIPs going to and from the venue.

Garda helicopters will be in the skies above the K Club to advise members on the ground as to the location of any congestion. Gardaí have already established a telecommunications centre at the course.

This will be used to link members on the ground with the Garda helicopter and the fleet of Garda vehicles that will be working during the event.

The onsite communications unit will also mean the force's headquarters for the event, at Naas Garda station, will be in regular communication with all units.

Members of the Garda Dog Unit will patrol the K Club, checking for any explosive devices following a sweep of all locations before practice begins on Tuesday.

The dog unit will also be available to quell any public order incidents.

However, sources said it was "highly unlikely" they would be needed for this purpose.

The Garda Sub-Aqua Unit will also be deployed along the stretch of the River Liffey that flows alongside the course.

Sources familiar with the planning of the complex operation said that while policing the event would be a complicated and difficult task, no significant difficulties are anticipated.