After promising to upstage the Galway Plate as the most famous piece of silverware at Ballybrit, the Sam Maguire was a non-runner on day one of the Galway racing festival, with the county’s losing footballers making a subdued homecoming elsewhere in the city.
But despite the All-Ireland hangover and a drizzly Monday evening, it was a cheerful start to the week anyway, thanks in large part to the number of stylishly dressed women race-goers for whom every day of the festival is Ladies Day.
Among the many bright summer colours on show, one of the braver choices of outfit was that of Gabrielle Dunne, a pharmacist from Oranmore, whose trouser suit appeared to the untrained eye to be orange.
“Tomato red” she corrected The Irish Times, with a laugh, although not before admitting some last-minute panic about being mistaken for an Armagh supporter.
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Her equally elegant sister, art teacher Barbara, wore an ensemble of what Gabrielle called “sage green and ecru”. Barbara for her part used the verb “ombréed” to describe the autumnal shading on Gabrielle’s leaf-themed hat while describing the colours in her own as “gold and nude”.
So if they said something was tomato red rather than orange, we were in no way qualified to disagree.
Never mind Ladies Day, the Dunnes have their own sartorial traditions for race week, including “we always wear trouser suits on the Monday”. They also have a personal designer in the form of their mother Marilyn, who uses them as canvasses for her creativity.
As for horses, both had an each-way bet on Pigeon House in the opening race “and shouted like we owned the horse” as it finished third to give them a profitable start. “It’s always exciting even when you’re only winning your own money back,” said Gabrielle.
One of the more dramatic dresses on the racecourse had already caught The Irish Times’s eye even before we realised it was being worn by Fine Gael MEP and former Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh.
A flowing, multicoloured number featuring the stylised face of a woman, it looked as if it might be the souvenir of an interesting holiday in Mali or Mauritius. In fact, according to Walsh, it was bought in Malahide, by a “Rose of Tralee friend”.
The MEP, re-elected in June, was with a group of women from her native Mayo including sister Eileen, home from Perth Australia. All were dressed to kill or at least seriously injure. But would they be back on Thursday for the actual Ladies Day? “Monday is our day here, usually,” replied Walsh.
Also from Mayo was the hot tip they had for race three. The horse was called Truth be Told and they’d been advised to back it by “two sisters from Knock”.
This sounded more like a premonition than a tip. But in the event, Truth be Told could finish only fourth of eight. If there was religious inspiration anywhere, meanwhile, it was with the winner, Rock of Cashel.
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