Former US President Donald Trump has concluded his visit to Ireland, after spending a short time at his golf resort at Doonbeg in Co Clare.
He blamed civil proceedings under way in New York for cutting short his time in both Ireland and Scotland, and repeated his denials of accusations of rape.
Mr Trump has said he will "probably" attend an ongoing civil trial in New York where he is accused of rape and defamation, repeating his denials of the allegations during a visit to his Irish golf resort.
Writer E Jean Carroll, 79, says Mr Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in the mid-1990s, and then tarred her reputation and career by lying about it online.
"I will probably attend (the trial) and I think it's a disgrace that it's allowed to happen, false accusations against a rich guy, or in my case against a famous, rich and political person," the former US president told reporters while he played golf at the Doonbeg resort in Co Clare.
He also denied the accusation in a deposition video played yesterday for a Manhattan federal jury, as Mr Trump sought to defend himself without testifying in person.
Mr Trump, frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, will not be testifying in person, and his legal team told US District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday they will not be calling any witnesses.
Denying the allegations in his deposition video, Mr Trump accused Ms Carroll of making up the story to drive sales of a 2019 memoir in which she made her claims public.
The trial has so far run for six days and is expected to extend into next week.
This afternoon, Mr Trump and his entourage left the golf resort for Shannon Airport after a two-day stay.
His plane took off from Shannon just after 5.30pm.
'I could win it three times,' Trump says of US election
Asked if he was confident he could defeat US President Joe Biden in the next election, he said: "I could win it three times."
Wearing a Make America Great Again hat, Mr Trump was accompanied by his son Eric as well as members of the secret service as he exited his hotel in a golf buggy.
He described current US President Joe Biden, who defeated him in the 2020 poll, as "an incompetent person".
When asked whether he would be looking for the Irish American vote if he ran again for president in 2024, Mr Trump said: "I'm looking, right now I'm looking, that's why I'm talking to you."
After hitting his first drive on the course, Mr Trump said: "You think Biden can do that? I don't think so.
"Biden doesn't hit a 280 right down the middle, does he? Biden can't hit an 80 down the middle."
Donald Trump's visit to Ireland is taking place at a time when he is facing multiple investigations back in the US.
Last month, he became the first former US president in history to face criminal charges.
Mr Trump last night praised Ireland's ability to attract US companies to this country, who had been successful here.
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After he played the 18 hole links course he inspected some of the damage which coastal erosion has done to the periphery of the course at Doughmore beach which borders the course.
Several greens have been damaged by storms in recent years cutting into the dune face.
At the end of his round of golf he said he did very well - about a score of 72 - and also said they are now going to call the course "Doonbeg on the Ocean" but that the Trump name and brand would remain.
"We have the ocean and nobody else does so we're calling it Trump Doonbeg on the Ocean," he said.
Additional reporting Cathy Halloran
