A party for all Ireland with a family’s

Harrington leads the tributes to new champion and the island that shares his triumph

scrutiny and in filthy weather. His was a triumph for the remarkable sporting Lowry family, but also the sport north and south of the border.

Harrington said: “A lot of things that happened this week really added to it. Rory [Mcilroy] playing so well on Friday afternoon was a real boost to it. Shane going out and making the birdies, shooting a course record on the Saturday afternoon created a real buzz for the event. The buzz was here today – in miserable weather. Still the crowds turned out and were cheering.

“For Ireland, it was such a small place [Portrush]. It’s our 10th major. From a small country. We keep producing, over a substantial period of time.

“If you become a top-class Irish golfer you’ve got a chance of winning world-class events. There’s not many sports in Ireland where you could be the best in Ireland and then be the best in the world. We seem to deliver.

“I’m staying in Portstewart this week. If you drive from Portstewart to here, there are five golf courses by the side of the road. Little golf courses. If you were 12 years of age you can run on to those and play. Nobody’s going to stop you.

“There’s par-three courses, there’s pitch-and-putt courses, there’s a municipal course. There are so many options. Golf is for everybody over here.”

These claims felt irresistible as Portrush basked in the glow of an Open both convivial and full of passion.

“The Irish Open in 2012 [which returned to the north for the first time in 60 years] was a huge catalyst – seeing the community come behind it,” Harrington said. “Again we see it here this week. This Open has been as good as any Open. Record ticket sales – the turnout, great for Ireland, great for the community up here.

“One thing we can do in Ireland is run an event pretty well in terms of turning out and embracing it. There was lots of glory this week. All the Irishmen delivered. Most of them, anyway.”

Politics was absent from Lowry’s victory press conference, but it never fully leaves the picture here, even in an all-ireland sport.

Harrington said: “Growing up, I played so much golf up here. I’ve so many friends up here. I was coming up here in the Eighties, when people from the south distrusted coming up here. We asked: ‘What’s it going to be like?’ We always got a great welcome. Golf really helped break that barrier for someone like me. I wouldn’t have come up here for any other reason.

“Clearly now things have completely changed. Belfast is a great place to go on a night out. It’s just a changed place.

“We’re all hoping beyond hope that we don’t have a border back because it would set us back a long way.”

North, south: it was all golf, all respect and pleasure.