Former US president Donald Trump has told that he flew to his golf course in Ireland instead of attending his civil rape trial in New York because of a “long-standing agreement” to visit.
He spoke briefly after arriving at his golf course outside the town of Doonbeg in Co Clare, on Ireland’s west coast.
When asked why he was there, instead of facing in person the rape allegation made by accuser E Jean Carroll, he said: “We’ve had a long-standing agreement to come here. We’ve had a tremendous reception, a beautiful reception.
“The people of Ireland have been great, and we’ve had tremendous success, and I hear we’re doing very well in New York.”
Former magazine columnist Ms Carroll has said Mr Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in 1996 – a claim the former president denies.
The civil case has entered its second week in a Manhattan courtroom, but Mr Trump has not attended the trial, and flew to Scotland on Monday to visit his two golf resorts there.
He traveled to Shannon Airport on Wednesday, and will play golf at Doonbeg on Thursday, before bringing his trip to a close.
He also told reporters that the impasse over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland was a “tough one”.