Irish Students Look To Profit From Ryder Cup

By Colm Heatley

Irish students are cashing in on the Ryder Cup by renting out their, often run-down, student homes for rent at the princely sum of 5,000 Euro a week.

The student homes, many in the Tallaght area of Dublin, a huge but down-at-heel housing estate, are situated just a 20 minute drive from the K Club which will host the event.

Adverts for the houses, which are rented by the students for not much more than 5,000 Euro for eight months, have been appearing on well-known websites in Ireland over the past fortnight.

"I was able to get my house rented for a week and it will pay my rent for most of the year," said 19 year-old UCD chemistry student, Aine Tolan. "It's great, and the house is nice too, it is a lot of money but six people could easily stay in the house so its not bad value for a week and its not too far from the K Club".

However while some enterprising students had off-loaded their house for a week, hoteliers said that the expected rush hadn't appeared yet.

"Many hotels are still well below capacity for the Ryder Cup week," said a spokesman for the Irish Hoteliers Association.

"But we expect that to change as the competition gets closer, it is a question of a big rush at the last minute".

The recent terror plots have been cited as one reason for the slower than expected hotel bookings.

Meanwhile security at the event is the tightest ever, with even Taoiseach Bertie Ahern being told he will have to produce his passport if he wants to gain entry.

Most of Ireland's senior politicians are expected to attend the event, when it begins on September 22nd. More than 45,000 people are expected to attend each day. And this week in a bid to reassure people over security concerns, organizers told Ireland's politicians that no-one will be spared the stringent security checks.

Former US President, Bill Clinton, who celebrated his 60th birthday recently, is expected to attend the Ryder Cup.