The Irish Quiz Organisation is delighted to announce the Celtic Nations Quizzing Championships 2025! First held in 2013, the Celtic Nations is a weekend-long international quiz tournament held every April and contested between Ireland, Wales and Scotland (and since 2023, Cornwall too). Hosting duties rotate every three years between the three founder countries and this year it’s Ireland’s turn to host in the lovely town of Ashbourne, just outside Dublin.

WHO CAN TAKE PART?
All quizzers from Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Cornwall are welcome to take part. See below for details on how the national teams are picked.

REGISTRATION & ENTRY FEE
To register, go to https://celticnationsquiz.com and look for the registration link.
The advance entry fee is €25, payable via PayPal at https://paypal.me/IrishQuiz
If paying online, UK-based players can instead pay £22 in sterling, to minimise any currency conversion fees.
Whichever currency you’re paying in, please be sure to click the PayPal “Friends & Family” option so the IQO aren’t charged additional fees.
It is also possible to pay on the day, however the fee at the door will be €30 and must be paid in cash (euro notes only).

VENUE
The quiz venue is the Ashbourne House Hotel, in the town of Ashbourne, County Meath: close to Dublin airport and the city of Dublin.

GETTING THERE
The hotel is 25 mins from Dublin airport by car/taxi.
The 109A bus runs every 60 mins between the airport and the hotel, and takes approx. 40 mins https://www.buseireann.ie/routes-and-timetables/109a
From Dublin city centre, the 103 Bus Éireann route runs 1-2 times an hour from Beresford Place, and takes approx. 40 mins https://www.buseireann.ie/routes-and-timetables/103
(The “AIB” stop is the closest one to the hotel)
For those driving, the hotel is in the centre of Ashbourne town, just minutes from the M2 motorway, and free parking is available at the hotel.

ACCOMMODATION
Special single occupancy rate for nights of Fri 11th & Sat 12th:
€110 per night for room only, or €120 with breakfast (phone the hotel to book, and mention “Celtic Nations”)
Double occupancy is also available, as are other hotels and accommodation options nearby.

DRAFT SCHEDULE

Friday 11th April:
20.30 onwards – Pre-quiz socialising
We’ve reserved space at Kelly’s Lounge, just a minute’s walk from the hotel. They’ve got a pizzeria out back, serving up a pizza + pint deal for €17.

Saturday 12th April:
09.30 – 10.00 Registration
10.00 – 11.00 National Teams: Ireland v Scotland / Cornwall v Wales
11.00 – 12.30 Individual Quiz
12.30 – 13.30 [Lunch break]
Lunch will be available in the main ballroom, right where the main quizzing is happening, but you must pre-order lunch when registering on Saturday morning
View the menu
13.30 – 15.00 Pairs Quiz
15.00 – 15.15 [Break]
15.15 – 16.45 Fun Team Quiz
16.45 – 17.00 [Break]
17.00 – 18.00 National Teams: Wales v Ireland / Cornwall v Scotland
18.00 – 19.00 National Teams: Scotland v Wales / Cornwall v Ireland
19.00 – 21.30 [Dinner break]
We have secured a booking in Eatzen, a good Asian restaurant that’s a 5 minute walk from the hotel.
View the menu
We believe the Scots have a block booking in Cinnamon Garden (Indian restaurant), so there may be space available there too.
For an idea of their menu, see their online ordering menu 
When you register on Saturday morning, please let us know if you want to be included in a booking.
21.30 onwards Last Quizzer Standing / Buzzer Quiz / Social quizzing

Sunday 13th April:
10.00 – 11.00 National Teams: Ireland v Wales / Scotland v Cornwall
11.00 – 12.00 National Teams: Scotland v Ireland / Wales v Cornwall
12.00 – 13.00 National Teams: Wales v Scotland / Ireland v Cornwall
13.00 – 14.00 Prizegiving / Farewell
14.00 – There is a carvery in the hotel to get you filled up before you hit the road!

IRISH TEAM SELECTION
All attendees get to play in the majority of events on the Saturday (the Individual and Pairs quizzes, plus the fun team quiz and the Saturday night informal quizzing). Only the national team matches on Sat morning, Sat evening & Sun morning are restricted to the teams selected by each country.

The Irish teams for the national team matches will be selected by a 3-person selection panel. The panel will use the Irish quiz rankings (available on quizireland.ie/rankings) as a key indicator of who should compete on each team, but they will also have the freedom to include quizzers not on the rankings (or who haven’t completed enough events to reach an appropriate ranking) in order to rotate players among teams, match up quizzers based on strengths and weaknesses, and so on.

Within reason, the panel will endeavour to give most (if not all) Irish quizzers who travel to the event a place on a team at some stage, but it must balance this with the need to field strong competitive Irish teams, so it’s not guaranteed that all Irish quizzers will get onto a team. However, extra sets of questions for these matches will also be provided, so anyone not picked for a national team can still form impromptu groups to play those matches “for fun” if they wish.