Art App

1. Paola Defant and Denise Ryan / 2. Ewa Krupa and Julianne Morgan, pictured at the Hennessy reception at the National Gallery of Ireland to celebrate the Treasured Sheets exhibition and launch the NGI Masterpieces multilingual app.

(Pix. MOS)

In there like Swimwear

Poolside: 1. Deanna O'Connor and Declan Leavy; 2. Elaine Crowley; 3. Karen Nason and Aliza Reger. (Pix. KH)

The launch of the Designers at Debenhams Swimwear 2013 collection took place at the suitably sunny penthouse of The Morgan. Featuring designs from Reger by Janet Reger, J by Jasper Conran and Principles by Ben de Lisi, the collections references key trends for the season including tropical prints, retro details and vintage florals. Key shapes for this summer include ultra plunging necklines with halterneck detailing, the skirted brief, and the boxed kaftan, a great ready to wear shape for all figure types.

CRY Lunch

Pure Style: 1. Angela Scanlon and Brendan Courtney; 2. Lorraine Murray; 3. Joanne Smyth, Roz Quinn and Ger Moran. (Pix. Jason Clarke)

The 5th annual CRY Pure Style fashion lunch played host to the Arnotts Spring / Summer collection show at the Great Room of the Shelbourne Hotel.

Guests were treated to fantastic raffle prizes, which included a Downton Abbey poster and album signed by the entire cast of the popular period drama.  This was donated by Alan Leech who plays Tom Branson, the chauffeur in Downton Abbey.  Alan had been in the same class as Peter Greene in school.  Peter was the son of Marie and Michael Greene, founders of CRY, and he tragically lost his life to Sudden Adult Death Syndrome in 1996.

Guests at the event included Brendan Courtney, Arnotts Chairman Mark Schwartz, RTE sports presenter and CRY patron Jacqui Hurley, Ger Dempsey, stylist Angela Scanlon, Sunway boss Tanya Airey, Arnotts Ladies Fashion Director Deirdre Devaney.

All proceeds of the Pure Style Fashion Lunch will go directly to CRY, an Irish charity set up in 2002 to prevent Cardiac Risk in the Young. CRY aims to raise awareness of sudden cardiac death, provide counselling and support to families affected and to fundraise to give ongoing support to the CRYP Centre in Tallaght Hospital which offers cardiac screening and evaluation for families who have lost a young person or for a young person who may be experiencing symptoms.

VIP Style

VIPs: 1. Kathryn Thomas and Rosanna Davison; 2. Darren Kennedy and Alison Canavan; 3. Peter O'Rourke and Elaine Prendeville. (Pix. BME)

The host and nominees for this year’s Peter Mark VIP Style Awards were revealed at an exclusive

launch at The Style Club, South William Street, Dublin 2.  The Awards, now in their twelfth year, are the only national celebration of Irish style, and have grown in prominence each year.

This year, more than 100,000 votes are expected to be registered as the Irish public will decide who to recognise in the four main categories. The categories include Most Stylish Woman, Most Stylish Man, Newcomer and Look of the Year Award. Also to be awarded this year is the Peter Mark VIP Style Icon Award 2013, chosen by a panel of industry experts.

All award winners will be announced during a spectacular ceremony on Friday April 26th at the new Marker Hotel, a luxury design hotel located at Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock and opening its doors on April 2nd. The Peter Mark VIP Style Awards is the first major event at this iconic new address and will be hosted this year by Brendan Courtney.

Voting is now open at www.vipstyleawards.ie 

The Dining Room

Fine Dine: 1. Martina and Robbie Fox; 2. Derry Clarke and Andrew Rudd; 3. Eimear Kenny and Kevin Thornton. (Pix. BME)

TheDiningRoom.ie is Ireland's newest and best destination for foodies, showcasing and celebrating our great restaurants and restaurateurs.  With restaurant spotlights, top celebrity picks and plenty of weekly opinion and advice on food and wine from a range of regular and guest contributors, TheDiningRoom.ie will also offer exclusive tasting menus and offers.

The recently launched website, from the people behind Pisback.com, promises to give visitors all the information they need, whether they are looking to dine out in some of the country’s best restaurants or dine in with exclusive recipes and video tutorials from top chefs, such as Derry Clarke, who hosted the launch event at his L'ecrivain restaurant.

Guests at the lunch included Andrea Roche and Roz Purcell, Rosanna Davison, Kevin Thornton, Andrew Rudd, Eva Orsmond, Robbie and Martina Fox, as well as food critics Ernie Whalley and Tom Doorley.

www.TheDiningRoom.ie

Into the West

Food Fest: 1. Barry McCall and Derry Clarke; 2. Ashlee Dickinson; 3. Andrew Rudd and Jedda Downey. (Pix. SL / Photocall)

The Westport Festival of Music & Food 2013 has been announced.  At a packed party in Medley, Drury Street, guests heard details of what will surely be a festival highlight this summer.

Taking place in the grounds of Westport House on 29th and 30th June, it promises a weekend of great music, fabulous local food and entertainment to keep the whole family happy. Headline acts announced include Elvis Costello, Imelda May, The Stunning, Alabama 3, Damien Dempsey, Ryan Sheridan, Delorentos and many more.

Local food enthusiast Redmond Cabot was at the launch to announce a new element for the Festival - a ‘Best In The West’ food village, which will feature the very finest local produce. Guests at the launch were treated to an array of dishes, prepared by Medley’s Andrew Rudd, showcasing many of various local ingredients including Tagine of Connemara Hill Lamb, Kate Kennedy’s Mussels, Fresh oysters from Sean O’Grady and Seafood Chowder from The West Bar.

Among the crowd were musicians Jack L, Ryan Sheridan and Steve Wall. Foodies included chefs Derry Clarke and Rozanne Stevens, restaurateurs Asheesh Dewan of Jaipur and Joe Macken of Jo’Burger. Hairstylist Dylan Bradshaw and photographer Barry McCall helped spread the word about being part of the Festival themselves this year, with an on-site salon and photo studio.

http://www.westportfestival.com/