There has been much commentary on Donald Trump’s supposed support for Irish unity since he declared so in Dublin this month, repeating the stance on several occasions during his two-day visit to Ireland, including at his golf course in Doonbeg where the Irish Open was being hosted.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the US President sees “an island here. As we discussed, the golf, there’s no border in golf in Ireland. There’s no border in rugby; we were having this conversation”.

It is a striking anomaly of the partition of Ireland that most bodies that were united before partition remained so afterwards, including for sports such as golf and rugby.

Normally, when a country is divided or united, organisations follow suit. In the Irish case, however, multiple religious, trade, trade union, charity and sporting organisations maintained a 32-county presence and do so to this day.

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Why Irish golf has always been played without borders

Golf has been rooted in a strong all-Ireland dimension from its beginnings.

The Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) was established in 1891 along similar lines to hockey and rugby, with provincial councils managing all provincial affairs.

Its first meeting took place in the Northern Counties Railway Hotel in Portrush, with........

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