Donald Trump makes unexpected announcement during Irish Open trophy presentation

Donald Trump sparked one of the biggest reactions of the Irish Open weekend when he announced he would remove U.S. tariffs on Irish whiskey during the presentation ceremony at Trump Doonbeg.

The United States President had just handed Shane Lowry the Irish Open trophy when he turned his attention to the issue of tariffs, revealing that both Taoiseach Micheál Martin and the newly crowned champion had raised the matter with him.

Trump told the crowd gathered around the 18th green that he had been repeatedly asked to intervene.

“Everyone has been bugging me saying, ‘Would you do me a favour? It’s so unfair what’s going on. Could you possibly take the tariffs off of Irish whiskey?’” Trump said.

“And I said on behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off Irish whiskey.”

The response was immediate.

The announcement was greeted by loud cheers and applause from the crowd at Doonbeg, turning what had already been a memorable Irish Open presentation into an unexpected political and commercial announcement.

Trump had discussed the issue with Martin during their meeting at Farmleigh, with the Taoiseach understood to have asked the U.S. President to address the tariff imposed on Irish whiskey.

Watch Trump's announcement here:

Lowry, meanwhile, was more than happy to claim some of the credit.

Speaking afterwards, the two-time Irish Open champion joked that Irish distillers now owed him for his alleged role in Trump's decision.

“He also announced he was removing tariffs on whiskey because of me... so distillers better start sending me a cheque,” Lowry said.

When asked whether he had put pressure on Trump to make the change, Lowry added with a smile: “I’ll take credit for that.”

Record-breaking week for Lowry

The tariff announcement provided an unusual ending to what had been an extraordinary week for Lowry.

The Offaly man produced the most dominant performance in Irish Open history, finishing 23-under par and a remarkable 11 shots clear of the field.

That's a record-breaking margin in Irish Open history on the European Tour. 

It was his second victory in the tournament, 17 years after he stunned the golf world by winning the Irish Open as a fresh-faced amateur in 2009.

The victory was also the seventh of Lowry's DP World Tour career and his first in exactly four years.

Lowry revealed that he had dinner with Trump on Saturday evening, although he said the U.S. President had not told him that he intended to remain at Doonbeg to watch his final round.

Rory McIlroy also attended the dinner. 

The tariff issue has been an important one for the Irish whiskey industry.

Irish whiskey exported to the U.S. has been subject to a 10% tariff, leaving producers at a disadvantage to Scotch and Northern Irish whiskey, which currently face no equivalent tariff.

Any removal of the charge would therefore represent a significant boost for Irish whiskey producers.

The industry has continued to expand despite the challenges created by global trade disputes and changing tariff arrangements.

Recent figures from the Irish Whiskey Association showed that Irish whiskey export volumes to the EU had risen by 21.5% over the previous four years.

For Lowry, though, the day's headline belonged to his golf.

And after lifting the Irish Open trophy in front of a home crowd, he left Doonbeg with an extra reason to believe he had made an impact beyond the fairways.