Irish Poker Open – Get the Craic Going!

On Paper, Just Another Poker Festival

If you look at it from a very neutral point of view, then the event is just like any other. There is a Main Event, there are low buy-in tournaments, as well as higher stake tournaments, and above all, cash games available around the clock. Any decent event around the globe is offering the exact same thing.

Poker festivals have become incredibly professional over the years. Schedules are packed with tournaments for every bankroll, satellites are available throughout the series, and there are cash games running at almost any hour of the day. In that sense, the Irish Poker Open follows the same blueprint as most successful international events.

But why do people keep saying that the Irish Poker Open is something magical and different as other events?

That’s the question many players ask themselves before going off to Ireland for the first time. Because on paper, it looks like a very well-organized festival, but still just another poker festival.

Yet almost everyone who’s attended it seems to come back with the exact same conclusion: there is simply something about the Irish Open that makes it feel different. Here’s how I see it.

The First Experience in Dublin (2025)

Last year, 2025, PokerListings was at the event for the first-time ever in Dublin. From the very moment in the Royal Dublin Society, the venue where the Irish Poker Open is being held, we were immediately sold.

You get that feeling like you’ve just entered an amusement park. You arrive at a place where you know that great things have happened or are about to happen. And that feeling doesn’t come from just one thing. It’s a combination of countless details.

The buzz of players walking around with their chip stacks after bagging a tournament day. The chatter in the hallways between hands. Friends greeting each other after not seeing one another for months. Dealers and tournament staff who clearly know what they are doing and enjoy being part of the event. All of these little moments build the atmosphere that the Irish Poker Open is known for.

After entering the venue, you immediately get confronted with the history of the event. There are the huge screens in the tournament area that show content of the event whenever there isn’t a tournament happening, as well as a 30-meter big screen on the way towards the Craic Den and the outdoor area, and these screens show plenty of content.

But what caught our attention is the ‘winner’s gallery’ that’s shown on the screens. Recent winners like Simon Wilson (2025), Terro Laurila (2024), David Docherty (2023), and Steve O’Dwyer (2022), all mentioned it in their interviews, how cool it was to see themselves on this winner’s gallery.

It’s a famous wall, and it’s become a bucket-list thingy for many. For a lot of players, making a deep run in the Main Event is already a dream. But seeing your name and picture added to the winner’s gallery is something else entirely. It’s a way of becoming part of the history of the tournament. And that history is exactly what you feel when you walk through the venue.

Having been there for just one day, we came to the conclusion that it felt like we’ve been going to the event for more than 10 years — it felt like coming home. And exactly this feeling is what means the most to event organizers JP McCann and Paul O’Reilly as well.

The Organizers’ Vision

Their main objective when JP McCann and Paul O’Reilly took over the event was to make sure that players who made the effort to travel to Dublin to play poker would have the time of their lives. That might sound simple, but creating that kind of experience for thousands of players is not an easy task.

Poker tournaments are about more than just cards and chips. Players spend long hours at the tables, sometimes playing for more than twelve hours in a single day. When they finally step away from the tournament area, they want an environment where they can relax, meet friends, and enjoy the festival atmosphere. The organizers of the Irish Poker Open understand this better than most.

The venue offers not only poker tables, but also social areas, bars, and spaces where players can unwind after a long day of competition. It’s this mix of poker and social experience that gives the festival its unique character.

What the Players Say

He might not be living in Ireland anymore, but David Lappin is one of those players who’s experienced many editions of the Irish Open over the years. We asked him to describe the Irish Poker Open:

And that’s exactly it. It’s extremely hard going to this event and not having made new friends along the road.

Poker can sometimes feel like a solitary game, especially for players who spend a lot of time grinding online. But live events like the Irish Poker Open remind everyone that poker is also a community.

And think about it: the online qualifiers for this event are running way before the actual event kicks off.

For many players, winning a package online means they will travel to Dublin together with friends who also qualified. Others will meet people there for the first time after chatting with them online for years.

One of these players who is collecting packages and tickets online for the Irish Poker Open is Irish-own Dara O’Kearney:

A Festival That Keeps Winning Awards

There is another topic that describes the event.

Not only were the owners of the event, JP McCann and Paul O’Reilly, presented awards for Best Poker Event in the world at the GPI/Hendon Mob Awards, they are also continuously being asked for podcasts, videos, interviews, and more.

Running a poker festival of this size requires organisation, dedication, and a deep understanding of what players want. Over the years, the Irish Poker Open has managed to grow while still keeping the atmosphere that made it famous in the first place.

Poker media companies, like PokerListings, are always on the hunt for great stories, and they can be certain that whenever the duo of the Irish Open is asked to show up, they will be overloaded with fun stories.

And those stories are what keep the poker community coming back year after year.

Voices From the Irish Poker Community

Thanks to the Irish Poker Open, we got more quotes about the event. Irish Open ambassador Chris Dowling had to say:

Paul Leckey echoed that statement:

Why You Need to Experience It

If there is still a reason for you not to go to Dublin, then you have to check what’s happening with your poker career.

This event is one you need to have visited at least once in your life. Of course, Las Vegas is the Valhalla of gambling in general, and perhaps also the one of poker. But the Irish Poker Open is the one that is closest to home for many Europeans, and most definitely one of the kindest and most entertaining events of the entire world.

And once you’ve been there, chances are are you will understand exactly why so many players keep recommending it. Because the Irish Poker Open is not just about poker. It’s about the people you meet, the stories you hear, and the memories you create along the way. And that’s exactly what keeps players coming back to Dublin year after year.