The Irish Auctioneers & Valuers Institute is gearing up for its last hurrah now that it is shortly to amalgate with the Society of Chartered Surveyors.

The auctioneers are to hold a “celebration dinner” in Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel on Friday, March 4th and unlike previous annual events, the emphasis will be on entertertainment and nostalgia rather than on formal speeches.

And to ensure there are plenty of laughs they have hired comedian Mario Rosenstock, one of the big hits on the entertainment circuit.

With only 300 spaces available in the main hall of the Shelbourne, the event is likely to be a sellout.

The 189-year-old institute has no fewer than 29 surviving former presidents, the oldest of them Frank Meldon, who served in 1966.