IT was a beautiful, balmy Wednesday evening in Kildare and those gathered at Carton House for the first of concerts in the AIB Music Festival in Great Irish Houses were lapping it up along with the champagne. A first glance at the string of Jaguars parked in the drive prompted many to wonder if a convoy of the world's richest had arrived for the performance, but sadly, it was only a display by the conceit's sponsors.
However, there were enough high fliers there that night to satisfy anybody. Dr Tony Ryan arrived with designer Louise Kennedy, and his son Cathal Ryan was accompanied by Grace O'Riordan; the whole party joined Jaguar directors Declan McCourt and his wife, Margaret, Cathal O'Brian and Gabriel Hogan; Justice Mary Collins, and Bernard and Ann Devaney for a dinner in the Carton House dining room after the performance.
Overall sponsors of the event, AIB, were represented by Michael Baume and Dermot O'Donoghue and plenty of the festival's organisers also came along to see the result of their hard work; architect Ann Blackwell; Crawford Tipping and his daughter Linda, and Judith Woodworth, director of the National Concert Hall and artistic director of the festival who was accompanied by Tim Lloyd. Many went on to a supper party with Frank Casey, chair of the organising committee and former CEO of ICC.
Other music buffs or big house enthusiasts that came along to the evening were PD candidate, Geraldine Harmon taking a break from the election trail, and her husband Leo; Italian ambassador, Ferdinando Zezza; new IMMA chair Maurice Foley and his wife Maire; architect Richard and Bernardine Hurley; Ann Fuller of the Guardian Dublin Piano Competition, and the Irish Chamber Orchestra's Gavin O'Sullivan. Carton House owners, Lee and Mary Mallaghan, their son Conor and daughter Deborah impressed everyone by their calm in the face of hordes of music lovers and cars - taking over their house.