The 2025 edition of the Ryder Cup will get underway later this week, with two Irish players among the European team for the event at Bethpage in New York.

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are both set to play big roles for Luke Donald’s team, with the pair making their eighth and third appearances respectively.

They will continue a long tradition of Irish golfers taking part in the Ryder Cup, going all the way back to the first man from this island to play in the event back in 1947.

A number of counties in Ireland have contributed golfers to both the Great Britain & Ireland and European teams down through the decades. Here is every county that has provided players over the last 80 years or so.

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The Eight Counties That Have Produced Irish Ryder Cup Players
Antrim – Fred Daly, Norman Drew, & Graeme McDowell

Fred Daly (1947, 1949, 1951, 1953)

Norman Drew (1953)

Graeme McDowell (2008, 2010, 2012, 2014)

Antrim were the first Irish county to have a representative in the Ryder Cup, with Portrush’s Fred Daly making the team in 1947. He would not win the competition in any of his four appearances.

Daly would playing alongside Belfast man Norman Drew in 1953 making Antrim only one of two counties to have multiple Ryder Cup representatives in the same year.

McDowell, another Portrush native, became the first Antrim man to actually win the trophy in 2010, repeating that trick in 2012 and 2014.

 

 

Wicklow – Harry Bradshaw, Jimmy Martin, & Eamonn Darcy

Harry Bradshaw (1953, 1955, 1957)

Jimmy Martin (1965)

Eamonn Darcy (1975, 1977, 1981, 1987)

Harry Bradshaw was a mainstay of the Great Britain team (as it was then known) in the 1950s, winning the Ryder Cup in 1957.

He was followed by Jimmy Martin in 1965, before Eamon Darcy made four appearances across the 1970s and 1980s. Darcy would win the Ryder Cup in 1987, securing the winning point for Europe when he overcame American Ben Crenshaw on the last hole of their singles match.

 

Down – Eddie Polland, Ronan Rafferty, David Feherty, & Rory McIlroy

Eddie Polland (1973)

Ronan Rafferty (1989)

David Feherty (1991)

Rory McIlroy ( 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2025)

With four players, Down have contributed as many Ryder Cup golfers as any other county in Ireland.

Eddie Polland, Ronan Rafferty, and David Feherty were the first three Down natives to play in the Ryder Cup, although there is no doubting who is the most dominant golfing figure to emerge from the county.

Rory McIlroy will make his eighth appearance in the event at Bethpage this week, having been part of five European victories in his previous seven.

McIlroy has been part of a number of memorable moments in the event down through the years, both on and off the course.

 

Dublin – John O’Leary, Philip Walton, Padraig Harrington, & Paul McGinley

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John O’Leary (1975)

Philip Walton (1995)

Padraig Harrington (1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010)

Paul McGinley (2002, 2004, 2006)

Johny O’Leary was the only Dubliner to make the Ryder Cup team prior to the 1990s, with Philip Walton then taking one point from his two matches at the 1995 edition in Oak Hill Country Club. He would defeat Jay Haas in the second last match of Sunday’s singles, a point that proved to be the winning of the event for Europe as they ran out 14.5-13.5 winners.

Two men from the county would become mainstays in the team at the turn of the century.

Padraig Harrington would make six appearances in the European team, plus a stint as captain in 2018. Paul McGinley also has a captaincy to go along with his three appearances as a player, having knocked in the winning putt for Europe in 2002.

Alongside Antrim, Dublin is the only county to have two players feature in the same Ryder Cup, having done so on three occasions. They are also joined by Down as the only county with four representatives.

 

Galway – Christy O’Connor Snr & Christy O’Connor Jnr

Christy O’Connor Snr (1955, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973)

Christy O’Connor Jnr (1975, 1989)

Christy O’Connor Snr is a bonafide Ryder Cup legend, with his ten appearances in the event a total that is bettered by only three men on either side of the Atlantic.

Despite featuring in the event so often, he would come out on the winning side just once in 1957 (he was also part of a tie in 1969).

He would also just miss out on playing with his nephew in the Ryder Cup, with the younger O’Connor succeeding his uncle in the team in 1975.

Christy O’Connor Jnr was part of the team that retained the trophy with a tie in 1989, with his legendary 2-iron on the 18th that Sunday to clinch a point among the most famous shots in Ryder Cup history.

 

Louth – Hugh Boyle & Des Smyth

Hugh Boyle (1967)

Des Smyth (1979, 1981)

Hugh Boyle was not a prolific player on the tour, with his only professional win outside of Ireland coming in Japan in 1966. He would lose all three matches he played in during his only Ryder Cup appearance, including twice to Arnold Palmer in pairs.

Des Smyth was more successful in his career, winning eight times on the European Tour. Unfortunately, both of his Ryder Cup appearances would end in defeat for the European team.

 

Tyrone – Darren Clarke 

Darren Clarke (1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006)

Darren Clarke is a Ryder Cup legend, having won the event in four of his five appearance for Europe.

His most memorable contribution came in 2006, when he would appear at the K Club just six weeks after the death of his wife Heather. Clarke would go on to win three points in three matches, including an emotional victory over Zach Johnson in Sunday’s singles.

 

Offaly – Shane Lowry 

Shane Lowry (2021, 2023, 2025)

Shane Lowry would make a long overdue Ryder Cup debut after he was included in the team for the 2021 edition. While it would end in a convincing defeat for Europe, he would play a big role in the victory in Rome two years later.

He would take 1.5 points from his three matches, overcoming Rickie Fowler and Colin Morikawa alongside Sepp Strakka on Friday before halving his singles match with Jordan Spieth two days later.

Lowry has become somewhat of the heartbeat of the European team in recent years, something you can expect to continue in New York this weekend.

Here’s hoping for a few more moments such as this one over the coming days.

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