Having arrived in Dublin earlier on in the week to get ready for clients, I headed to the airport bright and early on Thursday morning to greet the first batch of England supporters travelling with us. Despite England’s loss the weekend before, the mood on our transfer to the hotels was quite optimistic. A lot of people felt that if they weren’t going to see an England win, at least they’d be present to see the historic event of Ireland claiming a Grand Slam on home soil, having played so brilliantly throughout the tournament. It was either that or the prospect of Guinness and St Paddy’s Day in Dublin that contributed to the upbeat atmosphere. After a smooth journey into the city centre, supporters were able to check-in, drop their bags and head out to explore Dublin. I know that some of those staying in Camden Court visited the Guinness Storehouse, a whiskey distillery, and there was even a ghost-tour too (not for me). I spent the rest of the day driving around the city with Andy and making sure that each hotel was well-stocked with our Gullivers / Wooden Spoon water bottles ahead of the weekend.

Further arrivals on Friday meant another early start to head to the airport. Once we had transferred everyone to their respective hotels, supporters were able to enjoy the famous St. Patrick’s Day parade through the city. I had expected today to be pretty lively, and those expectations were certainly met!  Every bar and restaurant in Dublin were bursting at the seams with people – an incredible experience, and certainly my highlight of the tour.

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On Saturday morning I assembled with Rob L and Kurky in the reception of Camden Court to hand out tickets and water bottles to supporters. We had a large group staying at this hotel, so it was a busy couple of hours, but it was great to get the opportunity to engage with everyone and hear a few funny stories from the night before! Straight after this, we headed to the Gullivers Clubhouse event at The Market Bar where my role was to collect invitations on the door. This meant that I greeted Simon Shaw on his arrival and shook his hand (it was a little bigger than mine). Compèred by our very own Kurky, it was a great event with some really interesting, and at times, hilarious stories from Rob Henderson, Simon Shaw and Gavin Mairs.

Later that afternoon, we made our way to the Aviva, following the swarm of green. Hearing the Irish fans belt out the anthem knowing full well that they were about to witness history was quite something. After a fairly even start, a red card that has split opinions led to an inevitable Irish victory – and the atmosphere reached crescendo at full-time when the Grand Slam was secured and ‘Freed from Desire’ rung around the stadium. Although England supporters were obviously disappointed, everyone could agree it was an amazing game to watch in person.

The next morning, I headed off in the van to collect the Gullivers noticeboards from each hotel and catch the ferry – meanwhile, the remaining Gullivers staff organised the transfers back to the airport for those flying with us and said their good-bye’s. We’ll be back in Dublin with England in two years’ time, hopefully supporting a much-improved side, and I certainly can’t wait!

- Callum Wardlaw, Commercial Executive