A bitter breeze is coming up the Liffey - perfect weather to skin a brass monkey or launch the latest Bridgestone books from John and Sally McKenna.
There's coffee, scones and a huge yellow cake to celebrate the tenth publication in the series. The 100 Best Places to Stay in Ireland 2001 and 100 Best Restaurants in Ireland 2001 are out now. The two McKennas recall the early days, 10 years ago, when they travelled the countryside in a banger, going to out-of-the-way restaurants to discover what was on offer.
Now, John says, talking about food and restaurants "is like a blood sport for the middleclasses. They [the public] get mean and nasty." Yeah, we do.
A blue-blooded Colm Conyngham, of Bridgestone/Firestone Ireland, representing the sponsor, is present. He is a distant relative of the Marquis of Conyngham (aka Henry Mount Charles). Maureen Daly, from Durrus in west Cork, holds the youngest McKenna child, Patrick John McKenna (aged two) while the older children, Connie (7) and Sam (5) wait ravenously, like all children, for the cake to be cut. P.J. is the youngest but "the latest baby is the website," says his father. This website, www.bridgestoneguides.com, is the responsibility of Sile Ginnane, from Carrigaholt, Co Clare, via Athlone, and Conor Cahill from Bunratty, who chat to Una FitzGibbon, of Bord Bia. Mary Rainey has climbed up to the top floor with her little daughter Eimear Rainey (16 months). A long-standing friend of the McKennas, she's attended all the Bridgestone guide book launches.