On the Tiles

In the Merc: 1. Prescilla Kotey & Shonagh Hurley; 2. Jerry Fish; 3. Cici Cavanagh. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Having been to the Mercantile a few times - or ‘the Merc’ as those in the know refer to it – I can vouch that it’s fast becoming the late night hot spot in town. Over 700 people attended the re-launch event recently and were entertained in style by Jerry Fish & The Mudbug Club, Springbreak and the 18 piece swing band Hot House Big Band.

TV3’s Colette Fitzpatrick was at hand to welcome guests and introduce the live acts and was the perfect MC for this laid-back affair. Among the crowd were Lorraine Keane, Derrick Carberry, Sybil Mulcahy and Aisling O’Loughlin, Cici Cavanagh and Sean Munsanje. The Mercantile will join its sister venues in the group including Whelan’s and The Village and, lead by Irish entrepreneur Frank Gleeson, the old Victorian era features have been lovingly restored and the venue given a welcome makeover.

Said Frank: “Tonight marks a fresh start for The Mercantile and we are proud to introduce this new live music venue to Dublin. We have plans to make our mark on the after-work and late night scene, featuring top DJ’s plus international and up and coming Irish acts in our live music venue along with some cool club nights.”

Eco Timberland

(Pix. Leon Farrell / Photocall)

Eco Shoppers: 1. Barry Murphy & Ian Dowling; 2. Sarah Foley; 3. Aoife Lagan & Joanne Lawlor.

Timberland To Dundrum (or Fundrum as it’s also known as) for the launch of the brand new Timberland ‘Marketplace Evolution’ concept store. Rugby correspondent Brent Pope conducted an in-store Q&A session with some of Munster Rugby’s finest players including Jerry Flannery, Alan Quinlan, Barry Murphy, Felix Jones, Donnacha Ryan and Ian Dowling on the night.

What is a Marketplace Evolution store you might wonder, well as part of Timberland’s commitment to reducing its global ecological footprint, this new store concept is pushing the boundaries on eco-conscious shop fittings. The flagship store at Dundrum is the first of its kind in Europe and will showcase the potential of environmentally responsible retail space.

The images projected onto the walls of the store from a new state of the art 3D imagery system will alter throughout the year reflecting the changing seasons. The new lighting technology lasts more than three 3 times longer than typical store lamps while the Mirage flooring has obtained Ecolabel certification, a label which denotes low environmental impact throughout their entire life cycle.

Makes you feel good about shopping there.

Aura

(Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Good Aura: 1. Rachel Kavanagh & Sorcha McIvor; 2. Martina Judge & Sinead Desmond; 3. Alexandra McKeever & Rachel Doyle.

The Pink on Dawson Street was looking positively rosé on Thursday evening as it hosted the launch of Swarovski’s first ever fragrance collection. Guests enjoyed pink champagne and canapés while getting a glimpse of the Aura collection, as presented by Cyrille Jahin, International Trainer for the Clarins fragrance group, who flew in from Paris especially for the occasion.

Guests of the night included Sinead Desmond, Triona McCarthy, Anna Daly and Miss Ireland Emma Waldron who looked stunning in a gold cocktail dress. Izabela Chudsicka was there (she organised the very successful Miss Polanii contest recently) as were Rachel Kavanagh and Sean Montague and Brendan Scully of BScene.

The Aura range consists of fragrances, pearly particle body products and glamorous limited edition make up jewels. Working in collaboration with the Clarins Fragrance Group, Aura the Collection is available in Arnotts department store now and in selected stockists nationwide.

Grafton Lounge is 1

Lounging: 1. Fina Irvine & Tiffany Stanley; 2. Treasure Oshafi , Catherine Sceney & Dave Shore; 3. Catriona Heffernan and Orla Carthy. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)


The Grafton Lounge is well used to hosting birthday parties for celebrities, sporting stars and the like so it made perfect sense that they turned out in their droves for the venues very own birthday celebrations.

The popular bar celebrated its 1st birthday with a host of regulars including Big Brother star Keeva Guilfoyle, Fade Street favourites Louise Johnston, Cici Cavanagh and Danielle Robinson, models Georgia Salpa, Hazel O’Sullivan and of course in the middle of all that crowd was Breffny ‘Brefmeister’ Morgan. Shoos, DJs Mo K and Rob Kelly and The Undercover Creeps kept the party in full swing just like the old days of Cocoon.

Killing Bono

Rock ‘n Roll: 1. Diarmuid Murtagh & Jamie Campbell Bower; 2. Robert Sheehan & Ben Barnes; 3. Kristi Kuudisiim & Faith Barnett. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

The European premiere of Killing Bono took place at the Savoy with a host of well known names there to see the much anticipated film. Lead actors Ben Barnes and Robert Sheehan were joined on the night by their character inspirations, brothers Neil and Ivan McCormick as well as director Nick Hamm.

The film is a rock n’ roll comedy about two Irish brothers struggling to forge their path through the 1980’s music scene… whilst the meteoric rise to fame of their old school pals U2 only serves to cast them deeper into the shadows.

As his dream crashes and burns, Neil (played by Barnes with one of the most believable Irish accents ever) feels like his failure is directly linked to Bono’s success. Is he the yin to Bono’s yang? Is he forever destined to live in the shadows of superstardom? And what if the answer lies in… Killing Bono.

Amy Hubberman, Katie Lamour and Faith Barnett, Jamie Campbell Bower, Lisa Murphy, Fergus Kealy and Evanna Lynch were all there with the party continuing at Crawdaddy on Harcourt Street where Joe Echo (and Sheehan and Barnes) entertained the masses.

Killing Bono is released on April 1.

Diary Date

STAND-UP COMEDY AT THE SYCAMORE CLUB!

Tonight Friday 25th four of Ireland’s finest stand-up comedians; Jim Elliott, Bob Hennigan, Shane Browne, and Edwin Sammon will perform a two-hour show, which will be hosted by Danny O’Brien.

Doors are open from 8:30pm, with the show starting at 9:15pm.

Good Hair Day

Hair Force: 1. Cici Cavanagh and Sam Homan; 2. Alex Fitzgerald; 3. Anya Neilanze and Heather Irwin. (Pix. Kieran Harnett)

Over 50 beauty buffs turned out for the launch of new products from the John Frieda haircare collection and an evening of advice and demonstrations from special guest Kerry Warn, International Creative Consultant with John Frieda.

Boasting over 200 Vogue covers as part of his portfolio as well as clients including Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue, Kerry demonstrated the three latest additions to the John Frieda range and shared his secret celebrity styling tips.

Guest at the event included Fade Street’s Louise and Cici, celeb snapper Lili Forberg, Elaine Butler Doolin, Laura Whiston and Alex Fitzgerald, who had just finished editing the latest men’s issue of Irish Tatler.

City of a Thousand Welcomes

You’re Welcome: 1. Deirdre Hynds & Mary Collins; 2. John Waters & Brendan O’Connor;

3. Patricia Potter & Cllr. Peter Coyle; 4. Una Bagnall & Shane Dineen. (Pix. iKeegan Photography)

Over 1,500 people have applied to become Dublin Ambassadors with City of a Thousand Welcomes, a new tourism initiative that was launched recently at a reception in Bewleys. The project aims to harness Dublin’s reputation for offering a warm welcome with a format that makes sharing a pint or a cuppa with a Dubliner a certainty, rather than a hope, for thousands of tourists.

“Over three million people visit Dublin each year,” says Trevor White, director of the project, “and the reason why many of them come here is to meet friendly locals. City of a Thousand Welcomes brings tourists and Dubliners together in a fun, structured, safe way, at no cost to either party.”

City of a Thousand Welcomes will be launched globally on 16 June. From that day forth, people from all over the world will be able to meet with the Dublin Ambassadors over a free drink or cup of tea in three great Dublin institutions: the Merrion Hotel, Bewley’s Café and the Porterhouse.

When the service starts operating, a tourist could end up enjoying a pint with someone who shares their profession or hobby – or even one of the well-known Dubliners who have already signed up, such as Victoria Smurfit, David McWilliams, Bill Cullen, Graham Knuttel, Mario Rosenstock, David McSavage, Rosanna Davison and even Presidential candidate Senator David Norris.

City of a Thousand Welcomes will be headquartered in the Little Museum of Dublin, a new people’s museum that will open on St Stephen’s Green this summer and sponsors include Fáilte Ireland, Dublin City Council and Dublin Regional Authority. I guess this makes Dublin the only city in the world where the locals literally queue up to welcome visitors.

Jameson Global Party

Green with Envy: 1. Kathryn Thomas & Rebecca Lawless; 2. Lawrence Chmara & Suzanne Chmara; 3. Andrea Roche & Fidelma Breathnach. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Green was definitely the colour of choice as Jameson hosted its popular St. Patrick’s Day Global Party in the Mansion House. International legends Groove Armada headlined the Dublin event along with support from Republic of Loose, Codes, DJ Aidan Kelly and MC for the night Michelle Doherty.

Guests were also treated to a Jameson drinks reception while enjoying live link ups to other Global Parties taking place in Cape Town and Sofia to ensure a truly global experience was had by all.

This year Jameson broadcast their own global internet radio station, Jameson FM, to the 70 million members of the Irish community listening abroad. Celebrity hosts for the day included Craig Doyle, Sile Seoige, Ray Shah and Neil Delamare, who provided the ultimate St. Patrick’s Day party soundtrack.

During the day over 35 radio stations from around the globe descended on the Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin as part of the Jameson Global Radio Broadcast. They transmitted their Paddy’s Day shows from the heart of the celebrations to over 50,000,000 listeners who joined in on the festivities.

Kildare.tv

Lights, Camera, Action: 1. Rebecca de Havalland, Ruth Melody & Gillian Quinn; 2. Gillian Noone and Tiffaney Stanley; 3. Brian Ormond, Eddie Hobbs & Pippa O’Connor. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Kildare.tv, the online TV channel, could well be the future of broadcasting in Ireland and with presenters such as Eddie Hobbs, Gillian Quinn, Maureen Catterson, Brendan Marc Scully and Ruth Melody it’s beginning to make waves.

Len Regan and Patricia Rochford of Kildare.tv welcomed invited guests to an exclusive preview event at Palmerstown House recently to announce future plans. Brian Ormond and Pippa O’ Connor, Glenda Gilson and Rob McNaughton, Catriona Hanly, Triona McCarthy, TV3 presenter Andrea Hayes from Animal A&E and models Georgia Salpa and Vogue Williams were all there.

The future of television is changing before our eyes, as media giants worldwide scramble to stake their claims on internet video. It's an exciting time for TV buffs because nobody knows exactly how audiences will consume internet video entertainment in the not-too-distant future, whether it's on a mobile device, a laptop, a wall-mounted screen or something that hasn't even been invented yet.

So far guests on Kildare.tv have included top political figures Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore, legendary actress Maureen O’Hara and an eclectic mix of household names such as Jedward, Michael Flatley and David McWilliams. Tune in to see what other familiar faces pop up in the future.

3's company

(Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Rock On: 1. Glenda Gilson; 2. Jade Jagger; 3. Norman Pratt & Roisin Tierney Crowe.

Rock royalty Jade Jagger brought a smattering of the infamous ‘Jagger Swagger’ to Dublin when she hosted the ‘3 Smartphone Soiree’. The mobile network was celebrating it’s ‘All You Can Eat’ data plan and unveiled it to a host of the capital’s coolest movers and shakers. And where better than exclusive members club Residence on St. Stephen’s Green, which was transformed into a sleek music lounge for the evening.

Fresh from unveiling her ‘Disco Diamonds’ fine jewellery range at Paris Fashion Week (and hanging out with Lanvin) the uber-stylish designer and artist entertained guests with her music prowess alongside her Jezebel side kick, celebrity spinner Sophie Lloyd.

With rock royalty in their midst, guests needed little encouragement to embrace the ‘Rock Chic’ dress code and Three rewarded stylish guests for their efforts with a number of crystal encrusted iPhones. Jade displayed her well earned fashion credentials in a purple jewel-hued dress teamed with killer YSL heels accented by a beautiful signature ring from her coveted fine jewellery line.

Spotted on the night were Miss Ireland Emma Waldron, who looked great in a show stopping Chica red leopard print mini; Kamal Ibrahaim; Ciara Egan of Quintessentially, Rachel Kavanagh and Lisa Cannon, stunning in a Kate Middleton inspired navy dress and bouncy blow dry.

Louise Kennedy

Airs of Spring: 1. Louise Kennedy & Peter O’Brien; 2. Lizanna Kirwan; 3. Karen Fitzpatrick & Ruth Griffin. (Pix. Leon Farrell/Photocall)

How appropriate to mark St. Patrick’s Day with an event hosted by Ireland’s premier fashion designer. Louise Kennedy has long been the standard bearer for Hibernian style and is regarded as an arbiter of elegance, reflected not only in her own designs but also her work for brands such as Mercedes Benz and Tipperary Crystal.

Spring was in the air at Merrion Square where she unveiled her vibrant new Spring Summer 2011 Collection at an exclusive fashion show in her stunning atelier a few days ago. Her latest collection is hugely influenced by the soft flowing shapes and glamour of the 1970's and evokes a lot more than retro chic.

Vivid colour-block blasts of zesty tangerine and yellow, bubblegum pink, ink blue and apple green feature throughout and effortlessly complement the delicate relaxed luxe of monochromatic cream wools and metallic fabrics that also characterize this exquisite collection.

Louise was among the Irish contingent who presented British Prime Minister David Cameron with a gift of shamrock yesterday, a better ambassador we could not wish for.

Hall Pass

(Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Pass Out: 1. Romy Carroll & Emma Kane; 2. Louise Joyce; 3. Sinead Kavanagh & Derek O’Rourke.

It was laughs all the way at the special screening of Hall Pass, the latest comedy flick to hit our screens. In it Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) are best friends who have a lot in common, including the fact that they have each been married for many years.

When they begin to show signs of restlessness at home however, their wives take a bold approach to revitalizing their individual marriages: granting them a "hall pass," one week of freedom to do whatever they want...no questions asked.

At first, it sounds like a dream come true for Rick and Fred. But it isn't long before they discover that their expectations are out of sync with reality. Stephen Merchant (created the Office with Ricky Gervais) does a great turn in this film and we hope it’s the start to many more such appearances for him.

Pure Style

Don’t Cry for me: 1. Elaine Flynn; 2. Karen Koster; 3. Anne Marie Boyhan & Lorraine Murray. (Pix. Susan Kennedy / Lenmen)

The ladies who lunch proved that they’ve still got it at the CRY Pure Style fashion lunch at the Shelbourne Hotel recently. The third annual event was presented by Karen Koster and exclusively previewed the Spring/Summer 2011 collections from four Irish boutiques: Fran & Jane, Divine, Compagnie L and Anastasia.

The event was held to raise funds for CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) and will be used by them to support families who have lost a relative to sudden cardiac death (SCD), to raise awareness of the conditions that cause SCD, and to fund the activities of the Centre for Cardiac Risk in Younger Persons (CRYP) in Tallaght Hospital.

This Centre provides comprehensive cardiac evaluation of those who may be at risk from SCD either because of family history or worrying symptoms. The service is available to anyone in the country and is actually free to patients.

Tinie Tempah

Not so Tiny: 1. Sara Moore; 2. Tinie Tempah; 3. Caroline Lane and Charles Maltha. (Pix. Kieran Harnett)

BRIT Award winner Tinie Tempah dazzled fans at a private gig in Tripod for Vodafone’s BIG BlackBerry BASH. Those in attendance danced the night away as Tinie sang hit songs such as ‘Written in the Stars’ and ‘Wonderman’.

The undisputed highlight of the evening was when Tinie came backed on stage for his second encore and wowedthe audience with the recent BRIT Award single of the year ‘Pass Out’. The event celebrated the fact that Vodafone is the only network with BlackBerry available as a pay as you go option and guests included Jamie Heaslip, celeb agent Noel Kelly and Vodafone’s Jeroen Hoencamp, Stefano Gastaut and Francesco Bianco.

Diary Date

ALTERNATIVE MISS IRELAND XVII 2011

SUNDAY 13th MARCH, OLYMPIA THEATRE DUBLIN
Doors open 7.00pm, curtains up 8.00pm
Tickets €41.50 / €29.50
Olympia Box Office (6793323 / 0818719330) and ticketmaster.ie

www.alternativemissireland.ie

The Biz

(Pix. Brian McEvoy)

The Business: 1. Victoria O'Keffee; 2. Anita Roddy, Emma Marmion & Emma Callan; 3. Síle Seoige.

It’s always good to see businesses doing well in times of hardship so when the Dublin winners of the Irish Franchise Awards 2011 were announced at a ceremony at Croke Park recently it was a great reason to celebrate.

The awards, supported by Ulster Bank, were presented by Síle Seoige and recognised excellence in franchising and rewarded outstanding achievements of businesses and individuals in the industry. The judging panel included Bobby Kerr of Dragon’s Den; Orla Nugent of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Greg Swift of Dublin County Enterprise Board and Cian O’Mongain from the Sunday Business Post.

The top honours this year went to Eddie Rockets, Home Instead, Fastway Couriers Ireland, The Zipyard and Boston Brand Bars.

Rango

(Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Rangoers: 1. Karl Shaabann & Audrey Hamilton; 2. Louise Hempenstall & Catherine Doran; 3. Roisin Tierney-Crowe & Sinead Doyle.

Young and old were out en masse for the Irish premiere screening of new movie Rango at the Savoy. Johnny Depp is the voice of Rango, a hapless lizard thrown into a new world of adventure. It’s sharp, impressive and carries a good moral message. Other star voices include Bill Nighy, Isla Fisher and Ray Winstone.

Don’t be fooled by the animation though, while the main character might seem a bit comedic this movie is sometimes dark and brooding (and I reckon the children at the Savoy got more than they bargained for!).

Spotted on the sandy desert carpet were Lorraine Keane and her children, Orlaith Hannon and daughter Willow, models Gail Kaneswaren, Karl Shabann and Faith Barnett and Fade Street star Melina Skvortsova.