Home grown Valu

Foodies: 1. Sinead Lynch and Aidan Buckley; 2. Corina Hardgrave and David Kiernan. (Pix. Mary Dunn / Collins)

SuperValu launched its new range of food and household goods at No 10 Ormond Quay Dublin recently. A select number of guests, including Tina Leonard, Alex Hatton, Michael Doyle and Dee Laffan enjoyed dinner cooked by chef Kevin Dundon to celebrate the launch.

Face for the Race

At Club 92: 1. Mark Nagle & Rebecca Gavett; 2. Rozanna Purcell & Daniella Moyles; 3. Sarah Houlden, Emma McMullen & Sarah Fennessy. (Pix. Sasko Lazarov/Photocall)


The search has been launched to find the face of Bavaria City Racing Dublin, which takes place on the 3rd June, 2012 and will bring F1, WRC, Superbikes, Supercars and Drifters on to the streets of Dublin for a spectacular one day exhibition of the world of motorsport.

The Bavaria Models are the official hostesses of the Bavaria City Racing event and are charged with looking after the likes of Jenson Button and the rest of the stars of international motorsport.

The winner of the national model search, in association with the Irish Sun newspaper, will be named the Irish Bavaria City Racing Model for 2012, receive a modeling contract, a makeover and a car! Entry closes very soon, check out the Sun's FB page for more details.

PS Vita

Pictured at the launch of Playstation Vita at the Button Factory were 1. Cici Cavanagh; 2. Michelle Rowley and Ronan Mc Cormack; 3. Hilary Johnson. Music on the night was courtesy of Fade Street’s CiCi who entertained some of the country’s best known gaming enthusiasts who attended the launch. Playstation Vita , Playstation’s revolutionary state – of - the - art portable gaming device, is on sale now. (Pix. Richie Stokes)

M&S SS12

Their M&S: 1. Nadine Wai-O'Flynn; 2. Carmel Manion and Karl Shaaban; 3. Jean McGann. (Pix. Kieran Harnett)

Over 200 of Dublin’s movers and shakers turned up to see Marks & Spencer unveil its spring summer collection in the historic surroundings of City Hall on Dame St.

Top Irish stylist Catherine Condell, produced the show focusing on the major trends for the season including Park Avenue, Miami Kitsch, Track Stars and Culture Clash. Top models Thalia Heffernan and Christina Toal showcased the range which included key items including the iconic per una Speziale floral shift dress and Limited Collection yellow mesh dress.

The front row was filled with TV’s finest including Sinead Desmond and Alan Hughes from TV3 and fashion stylist Sonja Mohlich. Also amongst the fashionable crowd were Lisa Duffy, Debbie O’Donnell and Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain. Jewel expert Natasha Sherling and stylist Sarah Rickard were amongst the twitterati in tweeting their favourite looks, all of which had #ss12mands trending on twitter.

Carmel Breheny, Marketing Manager for Marks & Spencer commented ‘It has been a superb evening for us and we’ve been delighted to welcome such a great crowd of media, stylists and fashionatas to check out the new collections, which are arriving in store now.”

Dundrum is a Beacon of Style

Style Set: 1. Lisa & Paul Fitzpatrick; 2. Roz Purcell, Don Nugent & Rosanna Davison; 3. Aisling Farrell & Eimear O’Farrell. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

The trendy Beacon Hotel, Sandyford hosted a Spring Summer Fashion Show with stylist Lisa Fitzpatrick and the Andrea Roche Model Agency showcasing the hottest trends & must have looks.

The show, which was in association with Dundrum Town Centre, featured all of the latest trends from leading brands and stores such as House of Fraser, Harvey Nichols, Massimo Dutti, Gant, Zara, Hugo Boss and Fran & Jane amongst others.
Guests including Louis Walsh, Rosanna Davidson, Roz Purcell and Don Nugent, and many more from the world of fashion and entertainment, were invited to enjoy a cocktail reception in advance of the show which was put together by Dundrum’s Style Counsel.

Mount Carmel upgrade

Hey Baby: 1. Pamela Fagan and Dearbhal McKee; 2. Virginia Macari; 3. Minister Alan Shatter TD and Peter Mathews TD. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)

Mount Carmel Private Hospital welcomed the official opening of its new state of the art patient facilities recently. The new refurbishment, which saw works being completed on a new Women’s Health Unit, was opened by Minister for Health Dr. James Reilly TD.

Operating Suite and Patient Services Centre will radically improve the quality of service and infrastructure for patients and staff in the years to come. The €600,000 refurbishment has created a number of new jobs in nursing and administration. In addition the Minister also presented the JCI Certificate to CEO, John O’Brien in recognition of the recent accreditation awarded by the Joint Commission International.

Joining Minister James Reilly was Virginia Macari and her partner Kaste Dahl. Virginia who was a patient at Mount Carmel, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on Monday!

Mount Carmel opened its doors in 1949 and throughout its proud history the philosophy has been to provide excellence in patient care in a safe patient environment supported by outstanding facilities and a dedicated nursing team. Mount Carmel is widely known for being the only private maternity hospital in the country.

Champagne Supernova

Sparkle: 1. Miriam O’Callaghan; 2. Chris O’Dowd; 3. Kathryn Thomas. (Pix. Anthony Woods)

Moët & Chandon, the world’s leading champagne house, this year added some extra sparkle to the 9th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards as the official Green Room sponsor. Champagne flowed for guests including international film and TV stars including Dana Delany, Charlene McKenna, Amy Huberman, Chris O’Dowd, Stephen Rea, AJ Buckley, Laura Whitmore, Ryan Tubridy, Bressie and many more.

On the night Irish crime-drama Love/Hate took home seven awards including IFTAs for Best Drama, Best Director David Caffrey and Writer TV Stuart Carolan. Winning big in the film categories, The Guard also received the IFTA for Best Film, with writer/director John Michael McDonagh named Best Director, Best Screenwriter and the Irish Film Board Rising Star for his feature directorial debut.

President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins presented veteran Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan with the IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award, and she received a standing ovation from the 1,400 strong audience at Dublin’s CCD. In addition, the actress took home a second IFTA statuette for her supporting role in the Irish feature film The Guard.

During the evening, Moët also invited all the A-list celebrities and guests to autograph a 15-litre Nebuchadnezzar bottle, which will now be auctioned off for charity. This is a now legendary cinema tradition that Moët began decades ago at iconic film festivals and awards around the globe and stars who have previously participated include Morgan Freeman, Diane Kruger, Eva Longoria and Adrian Brody.

Meteoric: 1. Nadine O'Regan and Caghal Funge; 2. Angelica Salomao and Trish Fallon; 3. Aoife McCormack and Graham Knox. (Pix. Kieran Harnett)

Meteor celebrated the addition of the augural Irish Song of the Year category to the Meteor Choice Music Prize at a launch party in Dublin’s Doheny & Nesbitts. Some of the nominees including The Kanyu Tree, Cashier No 9, Lisa Hannigan and This Club took to the stage to perform their nominated songs and some additional tracks.

The Irish Song of the Year competition will see 10 of Ireland’s favourite songs from the past year compete to take home the title of Meteor Choice Music Prize Irish Song of the Year 2011. The shortlisted acts include: Bell X1 – Velcro, Cashier No 9 – Goldstar, The Coronas - Addicted to Progress, Lisa Hannigan – Knots, The Kanyu Tree – Radio, Little Green Cars - The John Wayne, Royseven - We Should be Lovers, Maverick Sabre - Let Me Go, Snow Patrol - Called Out In the Dark and This Club - I Won’t Worry.

The winning entry will be awarded the Meteor Choice Music Prize Irish Song of the Year Trophy along with a prize fund. Vote online at www.facebook.com/Meteor

Spotted at the launch party was Michelle O’Doherty, Graham Knox from The Corona’s, 2FM’s Ruth Scott and Jenny Huston and Louise Duffy from Today FM. It was an extra special night for RoySeven’s Paul Walsh who celebrated his birthday on the night with a candle lit birthday cake!

Red Bull Bedroom Jam

Spreading their Wings: 1. Heather Mulligan & Ashlee Dickinson; 2. Freya Drohan & Karl Miller; 3. Laura Webber & Maeve Kenefick (Pix: Brian McEvoy)

The Workman’s Club on Wellington Quay played host to the launch of the Red Bull Bedroom Jam initiative. Up-and-coming Irish talent can raise their profile and further their careers as Red Bull wants to push young Irish bands to expand their "wings".

Back with a beat in 2012, the competition is open to acts nationwide, giving young Irish bands the opportunity to perform at Ireland’s biggest music festivals in 2012 and one lucky act the opportunity to record in the Red Bull Studio with a top producer in the Autumn.

Judges on the panel include Stuart Bailie and Brian Boyd. The Minutes launched the project and over the coming months Irish bands such as Kanyu Tree and Rams Pocket Radio will be giving Red Bull Bedroom Jam support gigs in Dublin and Belfast at venues including UCD and the Speakeasy at Queens.

Gold Cup style

Gold Standard: 1. Emer O'Reilly Hyland; 2. Godfrey Deeny with winner Margaret Connolly; 3. Gabrielle and Barbara Dunne. (Pix. Kieran Harnett)

This year’s Hennessy Gold Cup, one of the most stylish events in the Irish social calendar, once again welcomed a variety of special guests from the world of fashion, sport, music and the arts. On the day however, it was the fashion stakes that had heads turning due to the ladies involved in the Hennessy Best Dressed Lady 2012 in association with Design Centre.

The overall winner Margaret Connolly from Mullingar was announced in front of a huge crowd at the Hennessy Best Dressed Marquee and presented with a voucher for €7,000 to spend in Design Centre. Margaret impressed judges, international fashion commentator, Godfrey Deeny, Ashling Kilduff from Design Centre and Caroline Sleiman from Moët Hennessy with her stunning cream dress and coat by Lilli Ann, brown suede gloves and brown bag, both from House of Fraser and shoes from Barratts.

A host of Hennessy’s customers and specially invited guests enjoyed the celebrations on the day in the private event hosted in the Pavilion at Leopardstown. Guests included The French First Councillor Aurelie Bonal and Maurice Hennessy, Ambassadeur de la Maison Hennessy as well as Hon. Desmond Guinness and his wife Penny, comedian Barry Murphy and singer Camille O’Sullivan.

SS12 at BT

Airs of Spring: 1. Jacqueline Honor Sullivan and Joanne Hynes; 2. Helen Steele; 3. Stacey O' Donnell; pictured at the launch of the Brown Thomas Spring Summer 2012 collection in Brown Thomas. (Pix: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland)

Hennessy Best Dressed Lady

The closing date for online registrations for the Hennessy Best Dressed Lady 2012 in association with Design Centre has now been extended to Thursday, 9th February at 5.00pm.

This extension will allow all stylish ladies a chance to put their best dressed foot forward at this year’s highly anticipated Hennessy Gold Cup. Regarded as the premier winter racing event, it takes place at Leopardstown next Sunday, 12th February.

Contestants are encouraged to register online at www.hennessybestdressed.ie, and they can also present themselves at the registration desk in the Hennessy Best Dressed marquee on race day. The winner will be awarded with a €7,000 design voucher to spend on the collection of exquisite designer clothes from Design Centre, in Powerscourt Townhouse, not to mention the kudos of actually winning.

Hundreds of Ireland’s most stylish ladies will hope to make an impact on this year’s judges, Ashling Kilduff of the Design Centre, Caroline Sleiman from Moët Hennessy and international fashion commentator Godfrey Deeny (pictured), who advised: “I will be looking for a lady who is ‘bien dans sa peau’ or ‘at ease in her own skin’, as they say in Paris.”

TV3's Big Week

Telly Ready: 1. Madeline Mulqueen, Michael O’Doherty & Holly Sweeney; 2. Ursula Halliagn; 3. Roz Purcell & Noel Cunningham. (Pix. Brian McEvoy)


As TV3 springs into 2012 off the back of a great 2011, a year which saw TV3 become the only broadcaster in the Irish market to grow share for the 3rd year in a row, the TV station today announced its spring schedule at a launch in The Convention Centre Dublin.

The schedule promises over fifty hours of home produced content each and every week, including live studio output from Ireland AM, Vincent Browne and Xposé. And TV3’s studio output is only set to increase as building is underway on two brand new studios at Ballymount. When the project is finished in August 2012, TV3 will be home to the largest and most advanced studio in the country, HD ready and with live audience capacity.

This season TV3 is concentrating on its Big Week, where each day will be dedicated to the biggest shows in entertainment - making every night a big night on TV3. Shows such as interior designer Neville Knot’s Doorstep Challenge, The Irish Bake Off and Southside Housewives will be high on home-grown entertainment.

Saturday is the day the stars come out to play for TV3’s big week. All across the country people have been roping in their families to battle it out on Alan Hughes’ Family Fortunes, and that includes some of Ireland’s best known celebrities. While on Sunday the most popular television show of all time, Dallas, returns for a brand new series.

Divine Style

Divine: 1. Mary Greene and Karen Koster; 2. Edwina Mahony and Sarah Curtin; 3. Sarah Rickard and Sarah Morrissey. (Pix. Presence)

Divine boutique hosted a wonderful show in the stunning confines of Carton House Maynooth last month. The show was in aid of Kilcloon National School with all proceeds going towards new facilities for the school.

Almost 300 gathered to see Divine's collections, from coats in the season's hottest shades of cinnamon, biscuit and grey to Knits with Irish label Electronic Sheep adding an element of cool to your warming wardrobe and a stunning collection of party dresses. Divine’s dedication to supporting Irish fashion was clearly evident with pieces from Unicorn, Trixibelle Shoes, Designs by Shimmer Headpieces and the grand finale of the amazingly stunning Deborah Veale dresses.

Guests were greeted with a wine reception sponsored by Avenue Restaurant, Maynooth and the Dean Martin Tribute Show singer Aidan Cullen who really got the party going. Following the show Willie Coonan started the auction followed by the raffle presented by Xpose's Karen Koster. And one lucky lady Catherine Kelly walked away with €1000 shopping spree at Divine after winning best dressed lady on the night!

F1 for Fibre

Early Birds: 1. Holly White & Alison Healy; 2. Caitlin McBride; 3. Fiona Gratzer & Melanie Morris. (Pix. Presence)

Research shows that 80% of Irish adults are not getting enough fibre in their diet and while 70% of women surveyed would like to add more fibre to their diet, it can be a struggle to find tasty and enjoyable high fibre food options.

Recognising the importance of fibre in our diet to promote a healthy digestive system, Nestlé Cereals has introduced FIBRE 1, combining high fibre and great taste! FIBRE 1 is a touch of honey on big, crunchy flakes with sliced almonds and every bowl ofthis delicious combination contains 30% of your daily fibre requirement.

A special breakfast was hosted to launch the new cereal with guest including nutrition expert Brighid McKevith, trainer Karl Henry, Caitlin McBride from VIP and health guru Dr Eva Orsmond. Nestle also conducted a breakfast survey last week. 98% of people surveyed recognised the health benefits associated with a diet rich in fibre and 52% where able to identify the correct amount of fibre that should be consumed each day.

Irish men Brian O’Driscoll and Niall Breslin proved popular choices when respondents were asked which celebrity they would most like to share a bowl of Fibre1 with but it was George Clooney who came out on top with 15% of the votes. 57% of people surveyed eat their breakfast at home with 35% of people admitting to breakfast being an anytime treat and the stunning location of the Maldives received the largest number of votes when asked where would be the number 1place to enjoy a bowl of Fibre1 cereal.