The two-day invitational pro-am, in which Tiger Woods was the star attraction at Limerick Golf Club on Monday and Tuesday, has raised in excess of £11 million for charity.
J.P. McManus is a strong advocate of the notion that "you get the most out of people by not expecting too much". At the extraordinary auction on Tuesday night his friends, acquaintances and admirers contributed a staggering £8.9 million to local causes.
The event was celebrated by a grand banquet attended by about 750 in a marquee in the grounds of Adare Manor. Guests included the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, golfers Mark O'Meara, Tiger Woods and their USPGA Tour colleagues, leading Irish and European players including Jean Van de Velde, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and Gay Byrne, who was wearing two hats - that of celebrity and master of ceremonies.
Businessmen included Michael Smurfit, Dermot Desmond, Renault (Ireland) chairman Bill Cullen and motor racing's Eddie Jordan, all of whom are close friends of the host.
It can be assumed they were among the wealthy guests who dug deeply into their pockets though auctioneer Philip Myerscough was careful not to identify successful bidders.
There was a poignant moment when a portrait painting of the late Payne Stewart, 1999 US Open champion, killed in an air crash last year, was auctioned for £1.4 million. His widow, Tracey Stewart, was there to hear Mark O'Meara pay tribute to the player.
Two other lots went for the same stunning figure, which far outstripped the top bid of £500,000 for a Peter Curling cartoon five years ago. This time another cartoon by the same artist, Istabraq, A True Champion, went for £1.1 million.
Then £1.4 million was paid for a round of golf for four people with Woods and O'Meara - effectively a six-ball - at the Isleworth Country Club in Orlando, Florida. Appropriately, O'Meara was on stage when the lot was eventually knocked down, with the player promising jokingly to throw in a golf lesson and a spot of lunch.
The third £1.4 million lot was a one-off piece of Tipperary crystal incorporating etchings of leading sporting personalities. Woods was on stage when a 2000 US Open flag from Pebble Beach, signed and personalised by him, went for £1 million. The other leading lots were: The Cataract by Jack Yeats (£1 million); stallion nominations to Saddlers Wells and Danehill (£360,000); four tickets to a Manchester United match of one's choice (£250,000); 50-year membership of The K Club (£200,000); a case of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1982 (£100,000); and a New Volkswagen Beetle (£80,000).