Jim J: you are wrong! Yes it is The Open Championship, but it is run by the R&A, who run the game in the UK, and will only stage their Tournament in Great Britain. That rules out all courses in Eire.
Porthcawl would be an excellent addition to the rota, as well as Portrush, allowing The Open to be held in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Plus the addition of these two will mean a rota of 11/12 years, ideal.

Not a chance for Trump International I think. It's too 'young', the fairways aren't 'links' type at all and the dunes being SSSI just can't be ignored. The comment 'at the end, so what, it's television that matters' is simply ludicrous (maybe it was intended to be). So unless 'big money' in some way trumps tradition at the R&A, which is highly improbable, no chance for Trump.

Obviously courses in the Republic of Ireland won't qualify to host the The Open. It's the (British) Open.

I'm more than happy to leave the choice of courses to wise heads at the R&A. They may be 'fuddy duddy' traditionalists but I think that's a very good thing so far as The Open is concerned.

Maybe playing The Masters on different courses is another idea that uou may wish to pursue?

Lahinch, Ballybunion, & a few others mentioned are in Ireland, therefore not British.

Kevin Markham, Chuggers, nick b, and John are INCORRECT. The oldest world championship in SPORT can be played in the Republic of Ireland, or in France, or in Portugal, or in Canada. IT IS NOT CALLED "THE BRITISH OPEN," DAMMIT! It is called THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP. Always has been, always will be. In fact, the Chinese announcers for last year's Open suggested that the official Chinese name be changed from "Yingguo Gongkai Sai"（英国公开赛）to "Shijie Gongkai Sai"（世界公开赛)，since it is the first open championship in any sport. The official Chinese name translates into "United Kingdom Open." Their suggestion translates into "WORLD OPEN." I couldn't agree more.

Sorry, Tom Morris, but that's simply not the way it works. Yes, the GUI is the governing body of Ireland's 4 provinces, but they have no say in the operations of the R&A. We're talking history and geography here. Ireland and Northern Ireland are different countries, and the R&A are only interested in the Northern one when it comes to The Open Championship.
As for Trump Aberdeen... it's the same thing... it's up to the R&A and not Salmond and the government. And let's not forget how the Scottish government out played Trump on the wind farm situation. An Open may be played there, but not for a long time. One suspects that's one of the reasons that Trump bought Turnberry.
Finally, it's Doonbeg, not Dunebeg... although it is now called Trump International Golf Links Ireland - one of the world's catchiest names.

What's the difference between Portrush or County Down hosting the Open and the rest of the great links courses on the island of Ireland. There is only one golfing body in Ireland, the GUI which governs golf in Ireland. Note the Irish Open is played throughout the island including Portrush. Hence, the precedent is set.
Trump Aberdeen will host a future Open as such a huge investment is not without sound commitments. The same economics apply to Trump Dunebeg for hosting an Irish open.

Thanks to Chuggers for pointing out the obvious (on this side of the Altantic anyway) - The Open Championship will never be held on Ballybunion, Lahinch or any other Irish course because Ireland is not in the UK. Only Northern Irish courses qualify.

Royal Dornoch is always being mentioned as a perfect golf course to host the Open, but it is considered to be too far away from anywhere and would never have the infrastructure to cope.

I wouldn't want to see Trump Aberdeen host The Open in a million years. I suspect the R&A won't either. Such an old organisation, firmly rooted in tradition and process is not about to welcome a new course - let alone Trump - into the Open family. Same applies to Castle Stuart. They'll stick with the old courses - so Gullane and Royal Porthcawl are strong choices... and Royal Porthcawl has a real shot after Royal Portrush has been added to the rota.

Royal Aberdeen could be added to the list, too.

For photos of Royal Porthcawl: flickr.com/photos/kevinmarkham/sets/72157631558653763/

How about Royal Dornoch in Scotland? I believe this is one of Tom Watson's favorite British Isle courses.

lahinch, ballybunion and RCD could never host a Open simply because they don't have the room to host all the TV and merchandise venues needed at an open. Portrush does have the space down the first fairway and over the road in the caravan park. Lahinch and RCD don't have driving ranges either. Ballybunion could host as they can put all the tv and merchandising on the second course.

Portmarnock in Dublin.
Very British-style course.