I sent in my little card to enter the Guinness sweepstakes to win a trip to Dublin, and yesterday I got the phone call telling me that I won. Yeah, it’s not mundane or pointless, but where else would I put it?
WONDERFUL!
Nice to see that these competition Do actually have winners.
I am sure you will have a terrific time.
:):)
Congratulations! That is wonderful! Enjoy your trip!
Congrats! Have fun!
And if it’s a trip for two, and you need someone to take … 
Way cool. Was this a national contest? And is it Dublin, Ireland or Dublin, Ohio?
I assume it was nation wide. And the trip is to Dublin, Ireland. I hope. Why did you ask that?! Oh…now I’m dying…
Wow, fantastic! Any details you can provide would add to the vicarious enjoyment. (Length of stay, accommodations, do you get outside of Dublin.) It will also help me with the hard-core envying that I am going to direct your way.
I was always pretty indifferent towards Guinness when trying it here in the States. I really prefer English ales and stouts are, well, too stout for me. But then I had some Guinness from the tap in a pub in Dublin. Nectar! The new cans with the nitrogen widgets make it taste almost as good as being from the tap now. Of course, they don’t have a widget for the Irish pub athmosphere yet.
Man i loved my trip to Dublin! Congrats!
You lucky bastard!
Curse you! I wanted that trip! Actually, I went last year and it’s a great town. Since Guinness is the sponsor I’m sure you’ll be treated well.
Curse you. Grumble…
Way cool! Nice to hear someone wins these things!
I hear there are at least 4 or 5 pubs in Ireland. Try to find one and have a beer while you are there - and go to a cyber cafe and start a thread while you are there and fill us in!
BTW, there are quite a few Irish Dopers - maybe you could meet up with a few as long as you are on their turf.
I’m so jealous! Congrats and have a great time!
How you doing, js?
That is utterly fantabulous, when do you find out all the details?
So you got the boobyprize
Dublin is a fantastic city. I spent a lot of my youth there. Enjoy!
Cool, and after you spent all that money coming here not too long ago
Give us a shout, we’ll have to hook up for a pint again when you’re over.
Dublin OHIO?
I think I entered that contest! I remember entering something with a prize of a trip to Ireland recently.
When are you going? I’ll bet you love it!
I just called back to make sure I wasn’t dreaming or on drugs. She confirmed that I was not. I also asked whether it was Dublin, Ohio and she confirmed that it was indeed Dublin, Ireland. I also Googled the phone number and it came back with the name of a firm that really rang a bell (i.e. Guinness sub-contracted the sweepstakes to an independent marketing firm). So I’m feeling a little more confident.
Not sure when we’ll be taking the trip. I’ve only taken two trips abroad, one to Wales and one to Ireland (I was in Ireland exactly a year ago!). Were it not for the generosity of one of my sisters, there is no way I could have made those trips, so it seems most fair to go w/ her. Thus we’ll be even.
We were going to go to Rome in October or November; however there is no way I’ll be able to spend a week in Dublin eating, drinking, and spending money like a tourist, and still afford Rome. I was already pushing my luck money-wise with the trip to Rome. So we’ve scrapped Rome and we’ll go to Dublin instead. Sorry, Rome.
The trip includes airfare, five days (nights?) accomodations, transportation to and from the airport, and an Irish breakfast every day (except the day of arrival). We may see if we can pay for a few days extra stay; it sounds like the firm arranging the arrangements is flexible.
As for timing, I’m thinking I’d like to be there while it is still warm. I need to find out when hurling season is, because I’d like to catch a game if at all possible. Otherwise we don’t have a lot of criteria for choosing a date. The affidavit confirming my age and that I don’t work for Guinness should be put in the mail today. So I’ll be getting that later this week.
Ever since coming back from Ireland, I’ve been wishing I’d gotten a genuine cow-whacking stick. You see the blackthorn canes and think they’re quaint, but when we were driving the countryside we happened across a family leading a small herd of cows down the road. When the cows got interested in something and just had to stop and check it out, the family would motivate the cows by whacking them on the bum with their canes until the cows decided to move along. It was funny to watch a ten year old kid whacking a cow with his little cane to get the beast strolling down the street again. So now I’ve got the chance to pick one up. Ha!
Anywho, a pint w/ the folk in and around Dublin is definately high on the agenda! Whether they’re willing to be seen in public with us again is something else altogether…
Enjoy yourself!
Hurling season is basically the Summer.
THE match to be at will be the All-Ireland final on September 11th…incidentally, it’s sponsored by Guinness.
http://www.gaa.ie/ has a master list of fixtures and lots of info to help you choose a team to support and a match to go to.