THE SOCIAL NETWORK:The publisher Kevin Kelly sold his Georgian town house on Fitzwilliam Square last week. Although Kelly would not reveal who bought No 24, a close friend of Danielle Ryan and her husband, Richard Bourke, told me the newlyweds are set to move in. Ryan's grandfather the late Dr Tony Ryan once referred to the house as a "little palazzo".
Danielle Ryan recently put Stacumny House, in Celbridge, on the market. Christie’s International has valued it at €6.5 million.
No 24 Fitzwilliam Square had been the home of Kelly and his wife, Rose, since 1995, when they bought the mid-terrace property from couturier-turned-gallerist Ib Jorgensen. Last summer the Kellys sold the contents of the house through James Adam Sons.
The property had been on the market for four years. The guide price dropped from about €10 million to €4.75 million in March 2010. A friend of the couple said they had “got a very good bargain, relatively speaking”, believed to be in the region of €3 million.
The Kellys now live on Elgin Road, in Ballsbridge. Kelly also launched several award-winning international titles, including World of Interiors and Departures, during a career spanning more than 40 years.
He was given a lifetime-achievement award by Magazines Ireland on Thursday; he dedicated it to Rose.
Seanie’s son weds
Michael Smurfit’s niece, the lawyer Barbara Clear, and David FitzPatrick celebrate their wedding at Straffan’s five-star K Club hotel this weekend. David is a son of Sean FitzPatrick, the former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank. At the time of going to press, it was unclear whether the wedding was to take place yesterday or today. The date was being kept secret; guests were issued with special codes. An online wedding list for Macy’s in New York gave the date as Friday, April 20th.
Steering the arts
The inauguration of the Irish Decorative and Fine Art Society took place in the card room of the Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club on Thursday evening. Almost 30 people turned up to elect a steering committee. Philip Sheppard of Sheppard’s auction house was elected chairman and later proposed that the Earl of Rosse be appointed president of the society. “He has done tremendous work over the years and not got the appreciation,” Sheppard said. Lord Rosse was elected president in his absence; it remains to be seen if he will accede. The Dean of Christ Church, Rev Dermot Dunne, and Prof Alan Fletcher of the school of English, drama and film at UCD were elected vice-presidents.
Dutch going
The solicitor Paul Smithwick – a brother of Judge Peter Smithwick – is throwing a farewell dinner for his friend the Dutch ambassador, Robert Engels, at the medieval Rothe House in Kilkenny on May 16th. Most of the diplomatic corps will be attending, including the nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown.
