Three Poles, two Portuguese and a room full of Russians crowd in to eat in a newly-opened restaurant, Tzar Ivan, on Clarendon Street. It's the official opening. Three Muscovite waitresses, complete with traditional aprons and red dresses - Masha Gabova, Svetlana Grebennikova and Olga Cheremetieva - waltz between the guests, offering pirogi pies, kurnik, kulebyaka and zalivnoye. (This may be just so much borscht to you and me but it's still mouth-watering fare.)
Overseeing the hospitality are two of the owners, Slava Borodin and Vladimir Trusov. Eugene Kleshkov, the Tass News Agency's man in Dublin, is here to enjoy the day. And Ray Byrne, president of the Restaurants' Association of Ireland, has come away from his own restaurant, Wineport, in Athlone, to do the honours. The men from Portugal are the restaurant's manager, John Semieo from Quarteira and waiter Joao Afonseca, from Madeira.
Poland is represented by Adam Kos, an artist from Grodzisk Maz, who says tantalisingly: "I am a free bird". He is visiting with his colleague, Marek Staszkiewicz, an artist from Krakow, and Helena Johnston, from Gdansk who has lived here for the past 25 years, and is a member of the Irish Polish Society.