Compiled by
JAMES GIBBONS
Canapes and cuvee but no nuncio
Fritz and Bruinsha Hirsch of Wellington Road in Ballsbridge, in Dublin 4, didn’t have far to travel on Tuesday evening for the Austrian ambassador’s garden party on Ailesbury Road. Fritz, who is “older than Prince Philip”, was sharply dressed, in a navy suit and Trinity tie. He was wearing an Austrian honour in his lapel. Why? “Because I’m very honourable.”
He came to Ireland in 1938 and lived on Hatch Street, where his parents ran the Old Vienna Club. Bruinsha, who is a member of the McGrath tea family, and grew up in Herbert Park, is a sister of Murray McGrath SC and of Timothy McGrath OSB, a monk at Glenstal Abbey. The abbey is a favourite destination of Aglaë Hagg, the wife of Walter Hagg, the Austrian ambassador. She intends to visit again before the couple leave Ireland this year.
Fr Michael Collins of St Mary’s Haddington Road arrived only to be mistaken for the nuncio by some excited guests. Then guests were treated to the ambassador’s fine tenor voice. Hagg sang some Schubert and was accompanied on piano by Dearbhla Collins, who is married to David Davin-Power of RTÉ.
Ian Fox of Lyric FM thought he was very good, while Prof Gerard Gillen said the ambassador had a “tremendous singing voice”. Gillen put many a tenor through his hands at NUI Maynooth, where he was professor of music.
The ambassador told me he was delighted that Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore served a Grüner Veltliner at a lunch at Dublin Castle last Sunday for the diplomatic corps, after the National Day of Commemoration.
Paul Dubsky and his environmentalist wife, Karin, travelled from Wexford, Dubsky noting that his German-born wife is now Irish. “She paid €950 to become Irish earlier this year.” Karin declared as a candidate for last year’s Seanad elections on the Trinity panel but was forced to withdraw, after the ballot papers had been printed, when she discovered she was not an Irish citizen.
Paul Dubsky’s father came to Ireland from Vienna in February 1939, and went to Clongowes Wood College. Dubsky also went to Clongowes and was the school’s first development officer.
Peta Taaffe, former chief nursing officer at the Department of Health, represented the Taaffe family, whose portraits adorn the embassy drawing room. They were members of the Wild Geese, and one of them, Eduard Franz Josef Taaffe, was the prime minister of Austria between 1881 and 1895.
Who we spotted: Ulrike Helwig from Drogheda; Dr Johannes Duess, who is doing research at the National Children’s Research Centre in Crumlin; Stella Konik of the Irish Baroque Orchestra
What we ateCanapés
What we drankMarkowitsch Carnuntum Cuvée 2011
Artistic panache runs in the family at the Kerlin
The artists Campbell Bruce and his wife, Jacqueline Stanley, were celebrating at the Kerlin Gallery’s summer exhibition on Thursday evening. Nichola Bruce, their daughter, won a prize for a feature documentary at Madrid International Film Festival recently. She wrote and codirected Axis of Light with Pia Getty, “who is one of the Gettys”, Jacqueline explained.
The architect John Pat Colclough is looking forward to leading the Cambridge Alumni Ireland tour of Laois on July 21st. He will take them around Emo Court and give them a talk after déjeuner sur l’herbe, which I’m told means lunch on the lawn.
The chairman of Mason Hayes Curran, Declan Moylan, enjoyed the exhibition, which features Mark Francis and Liam Gillick. He caught up with the solicitor Ciara Farrell.
Four of this year’s graduates from the National College of Art and Design, Lorraine Monagle from Donegal, Daniel Tuomey from Rathmines, Greg Howie from Shankill and Frank Wasser from the Liberties, were huddled in a corner.
Who we spottedArchitect Shay Cleary; artists Sam Keogh, David Beattie and Mark Garry; Barbara Dawson
What we ateStrawberries and chocolate
Scents and sensibility
Anne Filpo, perfumer with Lancôme, was at the National Gallery of Ireland on Tuesday evening to give some invited guests the opportunity to sample a new fragrance, La Vie Est Belle, ahead of its launch next month. Filpo, who was staying at the Fitzwilliam Hotel, told me that Irish people have a tendency to try new things.
Avila Lipsett is looking forward to going on holiday to Cannes in two weeks' time. She is currently writing for beautycall.ie, a site set up by Richie Spence, who recently married Foret Duggan in Croatia.
The TV presenter Darren Kennedy, who was MC for the event, asked guests for their favourite summer tune. The RTÉ weather presenter Nuala Carey suggested It’s Raining Men by The Weather Girls.
The fashion blogger Emily O’Donnell made her first appearance in town after two months. She had fallen ill overseas, and used Tuesday evening as an opportunity to catch up with friends.
Who we spotted:Singer Maria Tecce; models Alison Canavan and Sarah Tansey
Dragon takes a bite of 'Breakfast'
Norah Casey of Dragons’ Den told me she has taken a lease on one of Johnny Ronan’s houses, Dargleside, in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. The five-bed was listed at €4,000 a month. Casey, who was at the launch of the Ice Bar’s Bites menu at the Four Seasons hotel in Dublin on Wednesday, will co-anchor Newstalk Breakfast from next Tuesday.
Robert Nolan, the new general manager of the Four Seasons, is also house hunting. Having moved from the Four Seasons in Silicon Valley, California, he and his Swedish wife, Annica, and their two children, are currently staying at the hotel. Nolan is no stranger to Dublin, having attended Willow Park and Blackrock College.
Gillian de Lacy greeted guests at the door. She is from Scotland but said the de Lacys used to live on Ailesbury Road in what is now the Chinese embassy. She and her husband have just bought a house on Eaton Square, in Terenure, and will be moving in shortly with their two boys.
The food and beverage manager, Stephen Meehan, made sure that guests, including Richard Kavanagh of Social Personal magazine, sampled the new cocktail menu. Their favourite was the exploding frozen strawberry daiquiri.
Bill and Jackie learn a trade
The former stars of TV3’s The Apprentice, Bill Cullen and Jackie Lavin, have moved to a different sort of studio to apprentice themselves to two artists, Hughie O’Donoghue and Pauline Bewick.
It’s all in aid of the Cill Rialaig Project in Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry, and its upcoming ART250 exhibition in a pop-up gallery in Waterville that the apprentices will open next Friday.
The ART250 event caused much excitement last year, as people travelled from far and wide for the chance to purchase unidentified works of art by Irish and international artists (all past residents of the Kerry retreat) for €250 each.
With some pieces worth more than €2,000, according to Noelle Campbell-Sharpe, the fledgling art collectors are encouraged to “buy with their eye”. The name of the artist and the real value of the work are revealed only after purchase.
