`It's nice to see both sides of society coming together," commented one proud mum at the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art on Wednesday night as equine eclecticism drew party animals from all over. And though among those horsing about for the opening of Perry Ogden's Pony Kids exhibition were the Virgin Prunes' Guggi, Anjelica Huston, Marianne Faithfull, Paul Brady, John Hurt, designers Louis Copeland, John Rocha and Michael Mortell, and Tony Gregory TD, the real stars of the evening were the hordes of kids galloping about, slugging back the free Coke and showing themselves off in the book that goes with the exhibition.
Sixteen-year-old Anthony Maguire from Clondalkin was flicking through the beautifully-put-together book with his parents Coriena and Anthony Maguire. He features with his pony, Bob, in a picture taken at Smithfield horse market. "Perry called out to me in Clondalkin and asked me to come in to the exhibition tonight," he said. "He's very nice."
Perry himself was being feted by journalists, TV crews and parents, though he took a moment to tell how he had been taken to Smithfield by a friend some years ago and was fascinated and curious about what he saw. "I wanted to document this. About half-way through, legislation on controlling horses was coming in, and it seemed something that gave these kids power, responsibility, a reason to get up in the morning, was being taken away from them." Simon Carmody was there, he said, because "Perry's an old mate". He was pleased to relate that he was just cutting a video with Jim Sheridan to go with his new single Smile Baby, Smile, due out in March. "It's from the new album, which I haven't decided on a name for yet. It's pretty much the first thing I've done since The Golden Horde days, so I'm very happy about it."
While Bono was getting ready to give his speech to launch the book, Ali Hewson, looking serene and beautiful - as ever his sweetest thing should - said the Chernobyl Children's Project was "going really well. Adi is over in Belarus at the moment and I expect I'll be going out with the next convoy in about April. We're hoping to bring six children back for operations and to bring two more for full adoption. So things are going great".
There was huge applause for Bono, in orange-tinted glasses, as he recounted how he had grown up between Finglas and Ballymun, where there was "all kinds of wildlife . . . and we learnt to ride bare-back with ropes instead of reins and a sore arse because you couldn't hold on.
" `Horse' is also slang for heroin," he continued. "Funny that. You'd better understand the desire to get out of it if you want to understand what `it' is." For him, he said, escape was music; for his friend Gavin Friday it was visual and musical art.
"They are dignified people looking out from these photographs . . . and any mistakes they may have made looking after their ponies are as nothing compared to the mistakes the we have made looking after them. Hold your horses, kids!"
