Glossy eve at the Movies

At the movies: 1. Kathryn Thomas; 2. Rian Greenwood and Laura Whiston; 3. Sean Musanje and Aishling O'Loughlin. (Pix. The Gloss)


THE GLOSS magazine invited special guests and readers to The Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield for an exclusive preview screening of The Ghost, as part of the Moët & Chandon Cinema Club. Upon arrival, guests were treated to a delicious champagne reception and a feast of canapés from Neil Shirt catering.

The screening was the second in a series of cinema events by THE GLOSS and Moët & Chandon Cinema Club, which will run throughout the year to mark the glamorous role Moët has played in the history of film, both on and off screen.

Guests included Brendan Courtney from Off the Rails, RTE presenter Kathryn Thomas, actress and journalist Holly White and Ciara Hughes from Chanel. The Ghost, an Optimum Releasing film is a contemporary political thriller starring Pierce Brosnan, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Williams and Kim Cattrall and is in cinemas now.

MPW

Al fresco at MPW: 1. Darren Kennedy & Sandra Byrne; 2. Gina Bokin & Michael O’Doherty; 3. Jennifer O’Brien & Cathriona Gaffney. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

The man who made cooking sexy has spiced up his Dublin city restaurant menu just in time for the summer. Marco Pierre White, of eponymous MPW Steakhouse and Grill on Dublin’s Dawson Street, has added a pinch of his past and an element of eighties to his steakhouse menu.

With new London inspired dishes such as ‘Lyonnaise salad’ for starters and ‘veal chops with béarnaise sauce’ for mains, Marco believes temperatures are set to soar for diners on Dawson Street.

Simultaneously, to tie in with his new menu launch, Marco will take to the TV like never before where he will wow viewers in his new series ‘Kitchen Burnout’ which will be aired on ITV. The man who tossed complaining customers aside like a salad and booted irritating staff to the bin is likely to once again win the hearts of the public.

Celebrating in style the Fitzpatrick family, who run the MPW restaurant, hosted a cocktail and canapés reception on the outdoor terrace. Among those who attended were Sean Munsanje, RTE’s Darren Kennedy and Sandra Byrne, Michael O’Doherty, Caroline Scott and well known food critics Paolo Tullio and Myles McWeeney.

VW cooking challange

At the VW cook-off: 1. Deric Hartigan & Claire Champenois; 2. Rugby stars Kevin McLaughlin, Eoin Reddan & Jamie Heaslip; 3. Mark & CJ Comerford. (Pix. Kieran Harnett)


Over 250 lucky guests packed into Ballsbridge Motors to witness a unique event which saw Leinster rugby stars take part in a celebrity cook-off hosted by top Irish chef Neven Maguire.

Guests were treated to an entertaining showdown between several of the team who also surprised guests by bringing along the Heineken Cup on the night.

Still on cloud nine after their fantastic win in last Friday’s Heineken Cup, Leinster players Jamie Heaslip, Shane Jennings, Eoin Reddan, Kevin McLaughlin, Fergus McFadden and Stephen Keogh went head to head to show off their culinary skills.

The event also showcased Volkswagen’s fantastic selection of old and new models and the host of VIP guests were treated to a great varied evening of entertainment.

Head to Head

At the Brylcreem Head event: 1. Liam Hunter & Cathy Broughan; 2. Michelle Doherty & Craig Ronaldson; 3. Fiona Roche & Romy Carroll. (Pix. Richie Stokes)

The results are in, the people of Ireland have spoken and Brylcreem has finally unveiled Ireland's best groomed man (or 'Brylcreem Head' as he’s now, unfortunately, known).

As part of a brand reinvigoration Brylcreem hair product launched its search for Ireland's most groomed man in December last and a list of over 600 was whittled down to five guys; Fred Gilbert and Dean Fitzpatrick both from Co. Dublin, Craig Ronaldson from Co. Kildare, Michael Allen from Co. Galway, and Liam Hunter from Co. Laois.

The five boys shot to fame, with their faces appearing on billboards throughout the country over the last two months and the public was encouraged to vote for their favourite.

Craig Ronaldson, aged 20, scooped the title and the much coveted prize of a once in a life-time trip to South Africa for the World Cup this summer at the ceremony in Alchemy nightclub in Dublin's Temple Bar, which was hosted by celebrity judge, presenter and model Michelle Doherty.

The Dubliner goes weekly

Toasting The Dubliner: 1. Sinead Desmond and Leigh Arnold; 2. Blathnaid NíChofaigh, Chaire Grady and Anna Nolan; 3. Anna Daly and Alan Hughes. (Pix. Colin O’Riordan)

The exciting new partnership between the Evening Herald newspaper and The Dubliner magazine was the toast of the town this week as over 200 prominent Dubliners gathered in the Guinness Storehouse to celebrate the new magazine format and increased audience reach. The popular mag will now been available free in the Herald every Thursday.

Ireland’s favourite newscaster Ann Doyle put in yet another stylish appearance on the Dublin social scene in a stunning spring inspired ensemble. Rugby pundit Brent Pope was spotted engrossed in The Dubliner magazines first edition cover story on Brian O’Driscoll while broadcaster Claire Byrne and Ireland AM host Sinead Desmond caught up on all the news from the TV3 studios.

Amongst the throng of Dublin’s well heeled attendees were Stephen Rae, Evening Herald editor; socialite Laura Toogood; actress Leigh Arnold, Xpose host Karen Koster and Anna Nolan and Blathnaid Ni Chofaigh.

Xpose Live

Xposed: 1. Debbie O'Donnell and Teresa Murray; 2. Glenda Gilson, Brian Fallon & Asheena Nadoo; 3. Lisa Cannon & Karen Koster. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

The Xpose troupe hosted their annual fashion fest, Xpose Live, last weekend and there were several parties to celebrate. The event kicked off on Friday evening with a VIP do in association with Tia Maria which was attended by the Xpose crew and some special guests including X-Factor finalist Stacey Solomon.

FM104's The Gig

Enjoying The Gig: 1. Mark Noble & Nadia Forde; 2. Cillian O’Sullivan & Niamh Crowley; 3. John Culshaw & Adrian Kennedy. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)


The Olympia theatre was the place to be as Ocean Colour Scene, The Coronas, Aslan, The Dublin Gospel Choir, Republic of Loose, Joe Echo and The Plea took over for the exclusive 2010 FM104 Help a Dublin Child ‘The Gig’ in aid of The ISPCC.

The Gig is in its forth year and has been a complete sell out each year, making it the hottest ticket in town. The Dublin Gospel Choir will perform Aslan on the night.

Jonathan Culshaw, the UK’s number one impressionist, will also performed on the night. Famous for his work on BBC Radio 4 and BBC’s Dead Ringers , ITV's 2DTV and his contributions to BBC Radio 1, particularly on The Chris Moyles Show, Culshaw brought a new dimension to The Gig.

All acts performed for free with all proceeds going towards FM104’s Help a Dublin Child Appeal for The ISPCC.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10

Launch of XPERIA X10: 1. Pat Kenny & Deborah Rowan; 2. Aideen Chambers & Louise McNamara; 3. Brian Ormond & Pippa O’Connor.

Sony Ericsson revealed its new flagship XPERIA X10 mobile at a party at exclusive The Indigo Lounge at The O2 recently. The first phone in a family of phones to deliver a consistent user experience where communication truly becomes entertainment, the Xperia X10 will be available in O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores nationwide this week.

The event, hosted by Patrick Hughes, attracted a number of tech fans and Sony Ericsson devotees alike. Among the guests were TV legend Pat Kenny, Pippa O’Connor and Brian Ormond, Tristan Wheeler and Tara Doyle, Adrian Weckler and Fergal Breen.

Building on Sony Ericsson’s entertainment heritage and combining rich graphics with intelligence capabilities, the XPERIA X10 introduces a new UX platform that will evolve across the product portfolio and expand over time, continuously introducing new features and capabilities.

Introducing signature applications like Mediascape and Timescape, the XPERIA X10 lets consumers organise everything in their phone in an intuitive way, while the Android Market store contains thousands of user applications.

The smart phone will also feature O2 TV so users will be able to keep up to date with the latest sports action as it happens on Sky Sports, or catch the latest news as it breaks on RTÉ or Sky News. The Sky News & Sports package which normally costs €5.98 per month will be offered as a FREE option to O2 customers who purchase the new X10.

Beck’s Vier hits Dublin

At the Beck's party: 1. Gillian Lynch and Rachel Hendrick; 2. Elaine McGuinness and Conor Connolly; 3. Izabella Chudzica. (Pix. Kieran Harnett)

Over 1,000 guests turned up to the Church, Henry Street, Dublin 1 for the launch of Beck’s Vier. The centrepiece of the evenings was a live set from hard-working Dublin band, Republic of Loose followed by guest DJ, FM104’s Ben Murray.

Mantra Mini

At Mantra: 1. Haley Ryan & Michelle McGrath; 2. Iona Zaveraite gets the keys to her new car from Alison King; 3. Chris Kavanagh & Alison King. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Coronation Street stunner Alison King, who plays feisty factory boss Carla Connor, jetted into Ireland over the weekend to draw the golden ticket winner of the brand new Mantra Mini car at Mantra Nightclub Maynooth.

Alison was joined by guests who included models Hayley Ryan and Louise Kavanagh, Danielle Moyles, Michelle McGrath from band Industry and Alanah McGurk.

The fire girls from the Monster of Dirt stunt show which is coming to Citywest Event centre this weekend also dropped by for an impromptu performance.

Powers Whiskey Grand National

Racing at Fairyhouse: 1. Colette Fitzpatrick & Jessie Collins; 2. Nadia Forde & Synan O’Mahony; 3. Dáithí Ó Sé & Maureen Caterson. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Ireland’s racing set and fashion trend setters were out in force to cheer on The Powers Whiskey Irish Grand National on Easter Monday at Fairyhouse Racecourse.

This annual event is the highlight of the three-day Easter Festival at Fairyhouse and attracted a crowd of over 13,000 racegoers. The Powers Whiskey Irish Grand National is Ireland’s richest National Hunt handicap steeplechase with a prize fund of €250,000 and the much anticipated race was won by Bluesea Cracker, much to everyone’s surprise.

The fashion and style stakes were high with ladies from around the country braved the high winds to win the Carton House Most Stylish Lady competition in association with Powers Whiskey.

The deserving winner was Lucy Foster from Enfield, Co.Meath who is a regular race goer. The guest judges for the Most Stylish Lady on the day were Báirbre Power, Fashion Editor of the Irish Independent, TV3 Presenter Colette Fitzpatrick and Editor of Irish Tatler, Jessie Collins.

Among those enjoying the Easter racing festivities were many from the media world including Dáithí Ó Sé, Anne Doyle and her partner Dan McGrattan, Mark Noble from FM104, Sean Munsanje and Aisling O’Loughlin from Xposé and Alan Hughes from Ireland AM.

Also there were An Taoiseach Brian Cowen TD, Alexandre Ricard and Emma Donellan from Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, designer Synan O’Mahony, Michael and Anita O’Leary, the French Ambassador H.E. Yvon Roe D’Albert, Michael Hayes and Ailbhe Lee and many others.

2night

Pictured at the launch of 2night: 1. Ciara Whelan & Jon Slattery; 2. Derrick Carberry & Brendan Courtney; 3. Laura Toogood & Rosanna Davison. (Pix. Leon Farrell / Photocall)

Ireland’s newest guide to nightlife and events, 2night.ie, was officially launched in ‘The Secret Bar’ on Fade Street.

Already operating in 35 cities in Italy, just launched in Ireland and about to launch in France and Switzerland, 2night is a leading entertainment and free time guide. Whether it’s after work, dinner, after dinner or late night, 2night is now the way to find out what’s going on and where in Dublin.

Some well known faces came along to celebrate the launch including The Holiday Show presenters Ciara Whelan and Jon Slattery, Off The Rails presenter Brendan Courtney and model friends Rosanna Davison and Laura Toogood.

Guests were treated to a night of entertainment with Dublin band The Shoos who played their chart hit 'Yeah' during their set. Yo! Sushi served up a storm which was washed down with Corona beer, cocktails and Jagermeister shots ... good times.

3D Dragons

At The savoy were: Sinead Kavanagh & Derek Rourke; 2. Morah Ryan with Babette Ryan, Susie O’Flynn & Katie McKenna; 3. Romy Carroll & Emma Kane. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

The 3D spectacular How to Train Your Dragon had its Irish movie premiere at The Savoy recently. With voices by Gerard Butler and America Ferrera it tells the story of a hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons but becomes the unlikely owner of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.

High Fashion

At Spring Salon: 1. Cathy O’Connor & Triona McCarthy; 2. Dee Breen & Tracy Ryan; 3. Melanie Morris & Trevor Rigley. (Pix. Anthony Woods)

Kilkenny was the place to be recently when a select group of stylish ladies gathered at the stunning Mount Juliet Estate for the inaugural Mount Juliet Spring Salon Fashion Event in association with IMAGE Magazine and Harvey Nichols.

The charity event featured an exclusive salon-style showing of the Harvey Nichols Spring/Summer 2010 collection, as well as offering guests the opportunity to Shop the Show in the luxurious Mount Juliet Presidential Suite. All proceeds from ticket sales went to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin.

Following a beautiful fashion show (MC’d by Melanie Morris, styled by Paula Hughes and with hair by Kazumi Salon and make up by MAC) guests were treated to an exclusive fashion workshop with Triona McCarthy, personal styling sessions with the Harvey Nicks team of style and beauty experts, hand massages and mini facials.

Guests then partied into the night at an exclusive after-party with music from DJ Poppy Lloyd and champagne galore.

42 Below goes Up

1. DJ Kitty Kat and Conor Wilson; 2. Rachel Heeney; 3. Valerie Forde and Niamh Quinn. (Pix. Kieran Harnett)

42Below Vodka officially unleashed the eagerly-awaited 42Below Bar at SOLAS on Wexford Street with an exclusive invitation-only event.

Nestled in the heights the top floor of SOLAS (voted Best Cocktail Bar in Ireland in the 2010 Hospitality Ireland Awards), the jungle-themed bar is home to vibrant, eccentric life-size murals including kiwis and alligators along with other cute and not-so-cute critters of the jungle, true to the brand’s New Zealand roots.

Renowned for its cool advertising and viral campaigns, the unmistakeable 42Below spirit is brought alive in the new space.

Nokia Young Fashion Designer 2010

At the NYFDA: 1. Niamh Heaney, Elaine Sheridan & Aoife Byrne; 2. Laura Whiston & Ryan Greenwood; 3. Emmy Slattery (winner) and Averil Blakely. (Pix. Robbie Reynolds)

The country’s hottest trend setters and fashion followers gathered this week for the finale of the Nokia Young Fashion Designer Award 2010. The event took place in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre where guests enjoyed a Rosemount Wine reception in the Pygmalion Café before heading up to the first floor exhibition to check out the 20 finalist’s designs.

Emmy Slattery from NCAD was thrilled to be announced as the overall winner of the 2010 Nokia Young Fashion Designer Award and the two runners up, Niamh Rafferty from the Grafton Academy and Matthew Karp from Limerick Senior College, were equally thrilled.

NYFDA judge Yvan Rodic, from influential fashion blog Facehunter, was seen snapping pictures of the most stylish people in attendance. Other guests in attendance included the judging panel, which consisted of leading figures in Irish and international fashion - Marc O’Neill, designer of the Autograph collection at M&S, senior designer at ASOS Debbie Walker, Amanda Pratt of Avoca and award winning Irish designer Aideen Bodkin.

This year’s student mentor, Joanne Hynes was also there, along with Sonia Reynolds and Irish designer Peter O’Brien. Previous NYFDA runner-up Simone Rocha was keen to see the creations on exhibit, as was stylist Aisling Farinella and last year’s NYFDA judge and designer Eilis Boyle. DJ and actress Hilary Rose provided funky house tunes and kept the party (and celebrations) going.

Coco

At Coco: 1. Conor Hyland & Nikki Lavelle; 2. Emma & Ciara McGahern; 3. Karen McGoldrick & Lisa Marie Dupreez. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)


Since opening its doors on Clarendon Street in November of last year Coco Boutique is fast becoming a well known destination in Dublin for the boutique shopper looking for great occasional wear.

There was pink in the air recently when Dublin fashion followers gathered at the shop for the hot pink themed launch evening.

From the entrance carpet to the champagne and custom made cup-cakes, pink took centre stage as Coco Boutique showcased its exciting spring summer collection of exclusive designers including its much anticipated range of hand-painted dresses.