There have been a host of well attended bashes across the city recently, with many of the guests making last minute connections before they fly off to the various parts of the world for summer holidays. Almost every party this week was packed to capacity with the general buzz of vacation plans thick in the air.
One man who’ll be looking forward to a break is An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, who has had a busy time of it lately. With Dáil Eirean in recess later this month I’m sure he’ll still be in demand, but hey, no rest for the wicked I guess. He was doing the honours at the recent gala opening of the newly refurbished Clontarf Castle, where the guests included designer Louise Kennedy, photographer Richie Stokes and his stunning girlfriend Abbey Smith and RTE’s Joe Duffy.
The 12th century hotel has been given a 21st century makeover with the completion of a €10million stylish interior renovation. Situated in Dublin’s leafy north side suburbs, Clontarf Castle which is steeped in history has maintained its original structure, while incorporating an internal modern design scheme.
On arrival, guests enter the new atrium style lobby which is the finest example of the merging of modern design with the Castle’s original features. The Castle’s bedrooms have been luxuriously updated with junior, superior and even Grand Presidential Suites designed by Belfast-based interior design team, Red Sky Design. Meanwhile The Indigo Lounge is an uber-chic bar that will rival the city’s top night spots, lavishly decorated with rich colour, oversized sofas and chandeliers. There’s no excuse for not being King of the (Clontarf) Castle now.
Giving the girls a good excuse to show off their tanned, and no doubt toned, legs was the annual Social & Personal Summer Party, which was hosted by publisher PJ Gibbons in Howl at the Moon. The event also saw the announcement of the magazines Top 100 Sexy Legs list, a coveted list to be on and even better as it was in association with Nivea.
Enjoying the party and the cool cocktails, organised by S&P events supremo Richard Kavanagh, were Lorraine Keane, Glenda Gilson, Paolo and Ivano Cafolla, actor Liam Cunningham and Aishling O’Loughlin.
The top 5 positions, or the 10 sexiest legs if you will, belong to (in no particular order) former Miss World Rosanna Davison, socialite Cindy Cafolla, TV presenter Pamela Flood, TV news anchor Colette Fitzpatrick and singer Andrea Corr. There are 95 more recipients but I don’t have time to list all so you’ll just have to get your hands on the July issue of Social & Personal to find out.
For many years Cocoon, on Hibernian Way, occupied the top spot when it came to stylish and hip bars. And indeed it was top of the heap. But there comes a time when people get bored and the fickle trend setters move on to the next big thing. I’m not saying that happened to Cocoon, but it certainly lost cache over time and began to look a bit shabby around the edges.
Well, fear not darling readers, Cocoon has had a face lift and owner Eddie Irvine hosted a bash recently to celebrate the re-opening. The party was rather ostentatiously entitled “One Enchanted Evening with Eddie Irvine” and yes, that should have been enough to keep me away but I guess curiosity got the better of me.
Poor Eddie must have been very enchanted as I didn’t see him all night, but that may have been due to the capacity crowd who turned up for the festivities (maybe we were all curious). Among the crowd were Gordon Darcy, Channel 6 presenters Michelle Doherty and Jenny Buckley, The Blizzards, TV3’s Karen Koster, Paul Byrom, Laura Haughey, Astrid Brennan and Geraldine Mahony, who was looking forward to a bumber weekend of racing at the Budweiser Irish Derby at the Curragh. Irvine’s former business partner John Foley was a surprise guest, a sign perhaps that all is forgiven between the two after their recent court battles.
Anyhoo, the bar looks well, but don’t expect major changes, we’re talking cosmetic here. In the way that Halina Ashdown – Sheils can make you look subtly younger or thinner, you might not think Cocoon has had a makeover but you’ll notice something different. Society fave Avila Lipsett has been brought on board to revive the clientele and will be in situ Friday and Saturday nights.
Oh, and the place has recently been voted by Condé Nast as one of the top Hot Spots in Dublin. Back on top baby!
