There is something very civilised about strolling round an antiques show in the RDS, glass of wine in hand, on the evening before the masses set foot inside the door. The charity preview for Friends for Friends, the HIV and Aids charity, allowed a whole crew of the city's antique lovers to do just that on Wednesday evening.
A number of gallery folk were there including Suzanne MacDougald of the Solomon and Antoinette Murphy of the Jorgensen as well as Alan Hobart of Pyms Gallery in London, who had earlier that day scooped a Paul Henry painting in James Adams for over £170,000. Most of the women paid a visit to John Farrington's stand to drool over his antique jewellery while Mafra O'Reilly and Rita Crosbie paused at Gordon Nicholl's place for a chat. Rita was full of news as her son, Gary Hughes, is marrying Paula Campbell of Poolbeg Press in Kinnity Castle in Co. Offaly today, and a huge number of friends are invited to the event, including Rita's brother Tony Meegan who is arriving in from Canada, Peggy and Rom Massey, publishers David and Sheila Thorpe over from England and Kate Cruise O'Brien of Poolbeg.
Also wandering among the chandeliers and four poster beds were those eternally suave and wellturned out Paddy Bollard, business manager for Louise Kennedy; Gerard Denneny of the Merrion Hotel; Kieran Moore of The Firm (more anon) and Hugo Lambrecht of the South African embassy. Georgian expert, Desmond Fitzgerald, the Knight of Glin and his wife, Olda were there; Harry Crosbie strolled around with Gerry Ryan, and poet Rory Brennan was accompanied by his daughter Orla Brennan.