Contest winners pumped for Dublin
Peninsula Co-op, Times Colonist draw a hot ticket
Three couples are heading to Ireland after beating the odds in a contest sponsored by Peninsula Co-op and the Times Colonist.
More than 350,000 entries were received in the Pumped for Dublin contest, the most ever submitted in the annual travel draw. The entry forms — featuring matching shamrocks clipped from the Times Colonist — were dropped off at Peninsula Co-op locations throughout Vancouver Island.
The three people with the luck of the Irish — Lynn Monk, Leigh Glancie and Ron North — were announced Friday.
“I was shocked to hear that I had won,” said Monk, who works at a dental office in Duncan.
“I enter just about every contest and this is the first time I have ever won. So when I got the call that I had won, I was just a bit skeptical.”
Monk and her husband, Mike, who have never been to Ireland, will celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary there this year.
She said they are both looking forward to enjoying the food, culture and a few pints of beer.
Previous contests have taken winners to Paris, London, Tuscany and Rome.
The number of entries has grown every year, with the 350,000 in this year’s contest the highest to date.
“It has been extremely successful,” said Penny Sopel, marketing and community relations manager for Peninsula Co-op. “But who wouldn’t want to go on a romantic getaway?”
Each winner gets a seven-day selfguided tour for two that includes Dublin, Galway, Connemara, Kerry, Iveragh Peninsula (including the famous Lakes of Killarney), Dingle Peninsula and Limerick. They will receive return airfare for two from Vancouver to Dublin, seven nights accommodation (including breakfasts) and the use of a vehicle, with an total value of more than $3,900.
They will also receive an extra $1,000 spending money (good for more than a few glasses of Guinness) for being both Peninsula Co-op members and Times Colonist subscribers.
The contest winners will be enrolled in the Taste of Ireland Fly and Drive tour offered by Air Canada Vacations. They will stay at cosy bed and breakfast locations, hotels or manor houses — including, with a bit of luck, an actual castle.
“The package is more local and authentic,” said Cathy Scott, owner of Departures Travel of Oak Bay. “It has been an exciting time at the office to see new faces, all hoping to win.”