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Trump Wants a Ballroom in Ireland. One Man Is Having a Ball Fighting It.

An appeal filed by Liam Madden and Friends of the Irish Environment challenges approval of the 12,000-square-foot ballroom unless Trump restores habitat for the endangered snail.

  • President Donald Trump's plan to build "the nicest ballroom in Ireland" at the Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg faces a legal appeal over the endangered Vertigo angustior snail inhabiting the resort's dunes.
  • A local planning commission approved the project in February, provided the Trumps submit a snail restoration plan. Days later, Liam Madden, a self-described "serial objector," filed an appeal alongside environmental groups.
  • Unlike the White House ballroom proposal, Doonbeg's roughly 300 residents largely support the project. However, the endangered snail's ecological needs have long complicated development at the site.
  • Madden told an appellate board, "Please, refuse this nonsense." Planning law expert Ellis agreed Madden "seems to have found some issues that are worthy of further scrutiny."
  • Trump reportedly told Irish environmentalist Tony Lowes, "I'll be a friend to the snail," even as Madden vowed in July to "win the planning appeals and capitalize on it for notoriety.
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The Washington PostThe Washington Post
+2 Reposted by 2 other sources
Lean Left

Trump wants a ballroom in Ireland. One man is having a ball fighting it.

Tiny Doonbeg was all in favor of the plan, but concerns about an endangered snail — and “serial objector” Liam Madden — could derail the project.

·Washington, United States
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AGI - The new dance hall of the White House, on which Donald Trump has been insisting for a long time, will also bring the signature of the Italian craftsmanship. The project, read in a statement published on the website of Cbs News by Joshua Fisher, director for the management and administration of the White House, in charge of the project, presents Corinthian columns made with Indian limestone of "highest quality," which has been sent to Italy…

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The Washington Post broke the news in Washington, United States on Thursday, August 20, 2026.
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