GOLF/Solheim Cup:In a way, it was entirely fitting that the grand Ceramic Room at the National Museum in the centre of Dublin, where some two million artefacts, including the Ardagh Chalice and the Tara Brooch, provide evidence of the country's glorious past, should have been the venue yesterday for the announcement that Ireland has been awarded the Solheim Cup for 2011 to be staged at the new Killeen Castle resort in Dunsany, Co Meath.

This is, indeed, a golden age for Irish golf and, if it may seem a little strange to outside observers that a course that won't open until 2008 has won a hotly-contest battle for the event. Other bids came from the Lough Erne resort outside Enniskillen in Co Fermanagh, as well as bids from England, Italy, Norway, Scotland and Spain. The leap of faith from the Ladies European Tour in awarding the match to Killeen Castle was based on the quality of their bid allied to the widely acclaimed staging of the Ryder Cup in September.

Securing the Solheim Cup, the women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup, is the final piece in a jigsaw that will see Ireland play host to all of golf's major team competitions, having also successfully staged the Canada Cup, now known as the World Cup (in 1960); the Walker Cup (in 1991), the Curtis Cup (in 1996), and, of course, the Ryder Cup this year. Next year's Walker Cup will be held at Royal County Down.

Killeen Castle, with a course designed by legendary American golfer Jack Nicklaus, overcame strong international competition, to win the right to stage the Solheim Cup, a trophy designed by Waterford Crystal. The bid process started in November of 2005 and only concluded earlier this month, with Killeen Castle fending off bids from, among others, The Oxfordshire in England.

The Irish government has committed €5 million towards landing the Solheim Cup, although half of this figure will be ploughed into re-launching the Ladies Irish Open as one of the flagship tournaments on the Ladies European Tour. Snowbury Ltd, who are behind the Killeen Castle project, have also contributed financially to securing the match.

As Brian Wallace, of Killeen Castle, remarked: "We promise to make this an occasion to remember. It took no small amount of courage to choose a venue where a golf ball has not yet been struck . . . but it will be one of the finest golfing creations you'll find in the country."

One of the key factors, according to Sports Minister John O'Donoghue, in securing the Solheim Cup - where Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer will likely be among the main attractions on the US team - was the success of the Ryder Cup at The K Club, which respective captains Tom Lehman and Ian Woosnam praised as the "greatest Ryder Cup ever."

Traditionally, the Solheim Cup has been staged in September, but the 2009 match at the Rich Harvest Club outside Chicago has been given a date in August. The date for the 2011 match has yet to be confirmed, as has the issue of whether the play will be available on terrestrial television.

In announcing the decision to grant the 2011 match to Killeen Castle, Alex Armas, the chief executive of the Ladies European Tour, said: "We've chosen Ireland and Killeen Castle for a number of reasons, the first of which is the way the whole country supported the Ryder Cup in September and, secondly, because we believe Ireland is a young, vibrant society compatible with the image we wish to promote for ladies golf. It is true Ireland does not have a great history in ladies professional golf but we firmly believe this decision to come to Ireland will help to change that."

Ironically, this announcement comes just a fortnight after Claire Coughlan and Martina Gillen earned their full tour cards for the European Tour, while a number of highly rated amateurs, including sisters Tara and Karen Delaney, who are on scholarships in the United States, may also have joined the professional ranks by the time the match is held here.

While the afterglow of the Ryder Cup contributed to the decision to award the 2011 Solheim Cup to an Irish venue, the commitment to restore the Women's Irish Open to the European Tour schedule, starting in 2008, was also significant in swaying the decision Ireland's way.