Sports stars launch Irish Winter Festival

Irish sporting greats Reggie Corrigan and Ken Doherty have helped kick-off this yearÂ's paddypower.com Irish Winter Festival.

Former international rugby player Corrigan and 1997 snooker world champion Doherty, both poker enthusiasts, helped launch the Dublin event, which takes place at DoubleTree By Hilton from 25-28 October.

The four-day festival includes a €1,125 buy-in Main Event, which boasts an estimated prize pool of about €400,000.

Away from the tables, Saturday plays host to a fancy dress competition and pool tournament, while the popular beer pong event returns on Sunday.

A Paddy Power Poker spokesperson said: Â"Participants will be asked to get into the spirit of Halloween early by dressing up on Saturday, with the best dressed winning a free seat at the Irish Open valued at €2,250.Â"