The Gathering 2013: What’s Killarney bringing to the table?

You may have read about The Gathering. Depending on who you listen to it’s either a stupendously brazen money-making scheme or a cracking year-long festival dedicated to all the things that make this country great. I’ll let you decide for yourself. Anyway, the aim of The Gathering, from what I can gather (Oh-ho),  is to have the craic and when Killarney is concerned the craic is guaranteed. So just what is the celestial bastion of beauty that Killarney is bringing to the table?

Quite a lot as luck would have it. This week alone we’ve got a golf classic and a marathon. The golf classic takes place on Monday in Killarney Golf & Fishing Club and is €150 for a team or €50 if you’re on your own. I’m not quite sure who would bring their clubs with them on holiday but if you have, you’re in luck!

The marathon then is quite a big deal actually. It’s the first full marathon to be held in Killarney since 1964. 1964. That’s almost half a century. That was the year The Beatles broke America and the US declared war on Vietnam. So it’s a long time ago. There’s also a half marathon taking place for those of us who haven’t quite reached Paula Radcliffe level just yet. And best of all, it all takes place in Killarney National Park. A stunning setting.

For those of you interested in it head over to this site – http://killarneymarathonofthelakes.com/ – and register. It costs €35 for the full marathon and €25 for the half one and for that price you get a medal, a t-shirt, professional timing, a map and refreshments. You also get the satisfaction of completing one of the greatest tests of human endurance – something I assume is rather nice.