Donald Trump’s plot to build another ballroom is moving at a snail’s pace.
Away from the circus of his gargantuan White House project, for which he destroyed the East Wing of the People’s House and set off a dispute now being considered by the Supreme Court, the president is also trying to build a ballroom at one of his golf courses across the Atlantic in Ireland.
But the project in Doonbeg, County Clare, has unraveled thanks to a nationally renowned planning protester and the conservation of a very small local resident.
The 279 residents of Doonbeg have largely backed the president’s plan to build what his son Eric described as “the nicest ballroom in Ireland” at his Trump International Golf Links & Hotel. They said it would help the town fight off decline and bring tourism and jobs to the area.
But now, thanks to the microscopic Vertigo angustior snail, the plan is now a shell of its former self.
The snails live in the sand dunes and have been a foe of the golf course since long before it was plastered with the Trump name.
Planning permission for the ballroom was granted in February, but only on the condition that the Trumps find an alternative restoration plan for the tiny mollusk.
Donald Trump bought the course in 2014 and soon laid out plans for the ballroom, saying at the time, “One of the main reasons I’m here is siting the ballroom,” Trump said. “A truly great ballroom. I believe people from all over the world will be using this ballroom.”
Environmentalist Tony Lowe runs an organization called Friends of the Irish Environment, and said he received a phone call from Trump at the time saying, “I’ll be a friend to the snail,” The Washington Post reports.
Before the course’s construction in 1999, the group filed a lawsuit to protect the Vertigo angustior, which led to a judge’s order that the existence of the snail be “maintained or improved” and to provide a budget for a steward.
But Lowe’s group says the snail hasn’t been looked after properly, and soon after the family took over the course, the steward was let go.
In 2017, a plan to erect sea defenses was also proposed, raising concerns that it would bring an end to the snail.
Friends of the Irish Environment filed an appeal against the sea defenses and won, and in the group’s corner was a man with a reputation across Ireland for disrupting planning applications.
Heavyweight NIMBY Liam Madden, 76, is reported by the Post to have been behind hundreds of canceled planning applications, if not thousands.
He described himself as “the most successful appellant in the history of the Irish state,” telling the Post, “There simply isn’t anyone better… It’s a scientific fact… I’m modest as well… That’s one of my failings.”
Despite living three hours’ drive from Doonbeg, he said appealing the Trump ballroom was a “golden opportunity, adding, “If there is a God in heaven, I will win the planning appeals and capitalize on it for notoriety.”
He’s confident he’ll win, telling the Post, “I’ve caught them with their pants down.”
Many in the village want the ballroom, however, with the local soccer team, Doonbeg Football Club, calling the golf club “not just a business… but an integral part of our community.”
Doonbeg resident and Clare County council member Rita McInerney told The Washington Post that the ballroom is “part of the community’s vision.”
The national appellate board is expected to rule by the end of the year.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Trump Organization and the White House for comment.
