It's not every day that On The Town boards a naval ship in the line of duty, but when the new Rid- ley Scott movie, G.I. Jane, got its first Irish showing on Wednesday, the party was on board the largest ship of the fleet, the L.E. Eithne. Although film star Demi Moore couldn't make it over, Ireland's first two female naval officers were there to give us the low-down on military life.
Orla Gallagher and Roberta O'Ryan were the first two women to join the Navy in 1995, although there are now several more in their wake. Unlike darling Demi in the film, neither seemed to have any bother with their male counterparts, which Commander Jim Robinson of Naval Headquarters described as "proof of the influence of the Irish mammy!"
The event was certainly a change for publicist Lindsey Holmes, who had been up to her eyes in Dana's campaign until the previous week. Mind you, perhaps the Presidential race and the film were not completely unrelated - the G.I. Jane press material states: "She must struggle to overcome a physically gruelling schedule, constant harassment and sabotage . . . "