Irish Red Cross Ukraine Appeal

Like everyone else, I’ve watched in horror as civilians have been
slaughtered in Ukraine and millions forced to flee the country. But every time you
are about to lose faith in mankind, good people stand up and take a step forward – in this case, to support the refugees who’ve left their homes with nothing and to help
us believe a better world.

It’s a good time to be Irish. We are born with a passionate love for the underdog. A few short weeks ago, we were moaning about housing, health and inflation. Now, that’s all forgotten and we are queueing up to share what we haven’t got and to welcome complete strangers into our homes. You couldn’t make it up!

I will never hear a bad word said about Irish poker players, because over the
years when Eamonn, Bren and I (and a bunch of others) have asked for support
for Brother Kevin and the homeless and Pieta House, the suicide people, their
generosity and good humor have absolutely amazed me and made me proud to
be one of them. A few players asked me if The Sporting Emporium would do
something to help with the humanitarian crisis caused by the war. Of course they
will.

On Tuesday, March 22, we will be hosting a poker event to raise funds
for The Irish Red Cross Ukraine Appeal, and also inviting our casino customers to
throw a few quid in collection buckets if they so wish. I am sure the Irish players
will be generous towards our Ukrainian brothers and sisters. How they go about it
is none of my business, but if you’d like to have the craic and play poker while donating, please join us in the Sporting Emporium at 8.15 pm on Tuesday: buy-in
€100, rebuys/add-on €40. You might even win!

A few years ago, I spent most mornings at the WSOP drinking coffee and
having the craic in The Gold Coast with Irish player Fergal Nealon. I formed the
opinion that he was sound. When an Irish person describes you as “sound”, that’s
about as good as it gets. When the rest of us were talking the talk in response to
the Ukraine crisis, Fergal and his buddy, Mark Walsh, decided to walk the walk.

Together with a Polish lad, they raised cash with which to buy medical supplies
and, sadly, 200 body bags at the request of their Ukrainian contact and set off in a
van. They drove across Europe and a war zone to deliver their precious cargo to a
besieged city which was pretty miraculous and fucking dangerous. Not all
superheroes wear capes. They are not done yet. By a long way. They will have a
stall at the Norwegian Championships and also the Irish Open where you can hear
about their First Response plans. Good luck to them.

See you Tuesday!