Not quite the first board-gaming festival

I refer to your article announcing “Ireland’s first board game festival”. I fear that your headline claim may be misleading.

There has been a thriving board-gaming hobby in Ireland for over 30 years and upwards of a dozen conventions are run annually throughout Ireland. Some of these are independently run, some are affiliated to universities, where equally thriving board games societies are running.

These conventions are known outside Ireland and, indeed, have been internationally recognised through awards for work in raising money for children’s charities. There are also several internationally recognised role-playing games writers and board game designers.

There is an active online and social media community affiliated with this hobby. There is close and friendly cross-border cooperation and annual conventions have brought in guests from across the globe.

I want to wish Ms Cotton and her committee every good wish with the event in Clonakilty, but I felt it incumbent upon me to correct the record. I wish to invite your readers to view irishgaming.com, irirshgamingwiki.com, gaelcon.com and warpcon.com (UCC’s convention) and follow on the links to the other numerous board game weekly, monthly and annual events.

Colm Lundberg

Beaufort

Co Kerry