HOME OF 300,000 LIGHTS
EVERY year, a Christmassy glow settles in the sky over Killianne, Drinagh, as local man Tony Fitzpatrick turns on his magnificent display of Christmas lights.
Welcoming people from all over the county, his house has very much become a festive attraction for people of all ages to come and get a glimpse of all manner of glistening Santas, reindeer, penguins and even a full nativity scene. With a total somewhere in the region of 300,000 lights adorning the outside of Tony’s home, Christmas begins extremely early at the Fitzpatrick household as it takes over six weeks to get everything up and running in time for the festive period.
With such effort going in, it’s little surprise that Tony is once again a finalist in this year’s search for Ireland’s Most Christmassy Home. Run by Energia, Tony was the winner of the title back in 2017 and this year he was hoping to recover his title having gone to even more effort. Voting closes at midnight tonight (Tuesday) and you can vote for Tony by texting ‘HOUSE 4’ to 51155.
The winning entry will win donations of €3,000, €2,000 or €1,000 to the charity of their choice. And speaking of charity, Tony’s Christmas efforts have done some major good for his local community.
Last year’s effort saw over €4,000 presented to the Irish Cancer Society, while Tony estimates that in total he’s probably collected in the region of €50,000 for a variety of causes since he started.
Members of the public are invited to come along and join in the festive fun, while donating whatever they can to a great cause.