The Killarney Irish Festival Part1.

Wednesday 30th October

Unfortunately this was an event I missed last year due to playing the London EPT and I’d heard rave reviews from everyone who attended last year. So this year I was more than eager to attend. With just a 500euro buy in for the main event it would fit most bankrolls and so would be heavily attended. Despite the small(ish) entry fee this meant there was a very tasty prize pool and a 100k for the winner. With the Pound so weak against the Euro at the moment this makes it very tasty indeed. Although drinks were gonna be pricey.

Now Killarney isn’t the easiest place to get to. The nearest airport is Kerry and you can only fly there from Stansted. Luckily my good friend Kev O’Connell was attending and he normally books a Jet for short haul flights. Not just because he’s being flash, but mainly because he can smoke on the plane.
Unluckily he wasn’t travelling till Friday and Ladbrokes wanted me there Wednesday. DOH! We’d have to book a flight from Manchester to Cork and get a Taxi.
I would normally park my car at Manchester when flying from there, but as Kev would be returning to Blackpool it would be stuck there. So we were catching the train. First we needed a taxi to the station.
Taxis in Chorley have a habit of saying
“yep, be right there”
15 minutes later
“On me way”
10 Minutes later
“Coming doon road now lad!”
15 minutes later they arrive.
A friend, who shall remain nameless, works days for a local taxi firm. I didn’t want to risk missing my train so called him and arranged a lift.
Obviously 5 minutes before the train was due Shakey is nowhere to be seen.
“Shakey you twat, where the fuck are ya!”
“I’m on my way, just coming dooon ya road now lad!”
I needn’t have worried; he got us to the station a full 4 seconds before the train pulled in.

The flight was a doddle and we retrieved our luggage to find our pre-booked taxi. Ireland has a rather laid back attitude and I had a feeling that that finding the taxi would be less than easy. I was wrong, the guy was waiting outside the exit with my name on a card. Not only had he given me a discount rate of 130 from 169 euro but he had a brand new Audi A6 to make the 90 minute journey pretty comfortable. Not to mention unlike other taxi’s I’ve taken in the old Emerald Isle, he wasn’t talking for the entire journey.

Killarney is situated in county Kerry and it is no wonder it’s a huge tourist trap for the Americans. People travel all over the world for some of the scenes available practically on our doorstep. And the complex itself was far from a disappointment too. The set-up was excellent and after having a look round the card room I was eager to go.
Kila and me met the rest of the Ladbrokes team for supper in the bar where we sampled a couple of Steak sandwiches. (1 for me and 1 for Kila, there weren’t both mine before the comments start.) If I wasn’t already sure I was in Ireland it was completely confirmed when they turned up, minus the steaks.