Royal Dublin Golf Club has ended its 136-year history as a male-only club after members voted to accept new members from “all genders”.
The club, which was founded in 1885, and has staged six Irish Opens, never specifically forbid female membership by rule but the situation existed in practice.
However, the club has now adopted the Golf Ireland principles of gender equality as part of a reform of its constitution.
A written statement from Royal Dublin GC said: “All genders are equally valued within the membership without discrimination and enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all membership categories and the opportunity to apply for membership, when open, is available to all genders.”
In a statement Golf Ireland welcomed the decision, with Golf Ireland CEO Mark Kennelly saying: “We welcome the news coming from Royal Dublin today, that confirms the club’s adoption of the Golf Ireland governance principles. The club’s commitment to gender equality stating ‘all genders are equally valued within the membership’ is a very positive development. We look forward to seeing both men and women take the opportunity to apply for membership in the future.”