Watching the tent of the French circus, Archaos, blowing into the skies of Tallaght in 1992 is outgoing Dublin Theatre Festival director, Tony O Dalaigh's, worst memory of his 10 years at the helm. Standing in Browne's Restaurant on Wednesday at a lunch in his honour, O Dalaigh, typically, seemed to enjoy describing the "little bits" of the tent taking to the sky so much it was almost worth the resulting cash deficit.
He has far more good memories, anyway, of a period of his life that he describes as "just wonderful" - The Iceman Cometh at the Abbey, the Beckett Festival at the Gate (soon to be revived in London), Les Danaides in Tallaght Basketball Arena and, perhaps best of all, Theatre de Complicite's Street of Crocodiles.
Among those who gathered to pay tribute to one of the best-loved figures in the city's arts world were Ben Barnes, gearing up to become artistic director of the Abbey next year; Michael Colgan of the Gate Theatre; Richard Cooke of Bickerstaffe Theatre Company and the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival; Siobhan Bourke, late of Rough Magic and now on the Dublin Theatre Festival Council; and Moya Doherty of Tyrone Productions who is replacing Eithne Healy as chair of the festival. Moya, RADA trained, describes theatre as "her first love", so the board will be hoping she can bring her Riverdance Midas touch to the festival.
This would build on the investment of the new name sponsor (whose name, Eircom, doesn't become a reality until next month). Their sponsorship head, Adrienne Regan, spoke of the "passion" she had encountered among the festival staff. The festival director from January 2000, Fergus Linehan (who has dispensed with the "D" or the "Jnr" which used to distinguish him from his father, the writer and former Irish Times journalist), spoke of O Dalaigh's wife Margaret's refusal to host another retirement party. She had organised one when her husband retired as director of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham 10 years before - and she predicted that he had a few more incarnations left in him. Already he has agreed to work as a consultant on the new Blanchardstown arts centre.
O Dalaigh's hilarious speech explained where he learned to move so quickly - as a junior civil servant, he had nothing to do but listen to the sound of loud snores and, not having as yet discovered girls, he devoted his energies to cross-country running and amateur dramatics. Even when he moved upwards in the service, to become Secretary to the Minister for Education, he could hardly take himself too seriously, it seems.
Once, trying to find his Minister, the late Brian Lenihan, to ensure that he made it to a school function for tea and buns, he was forced to ask the question: "Where do they drink in Kilcock?" Eventually he found out - it was in Byrne's. He fished the number out of the phone book, rang it and asked for Brian Lenihan. "Speaking," said the Minister.