Oireachtas alumni enjoy knees-up

ON TUESDAY night, the Trinity Alumni of the Oireachtas gathered in the finest address in Dublin – No 1, Grafton Street – for a genteel little knees-up with the provost.

Fourteen TDs and Senators made the short trip from Leinster House to Trinity for the occasion. Provost Paddy Prendergast took them on a tour of the house before the guests enjoyed a buffet lunch.

Prof Prendergast wrote the following day to thank them all for a “thoroughly enjoyable and engaging” evening: “It is the first time we have had our graduates from the world of politics in one room and it was insightful to hear your thoughts and advice on where Trinity is going and how we can position ourselves to be a truly world class university.

“I hope that there will be more such occasions during my tenure as provost and I hope that we can work together to help build a better future for Ireland.” We hear Senators Seán Barrett and David Norris regaled the company with tales of provosts past and various other yarns from college history.

A number of alumni were unable to attend, among them Ministers Alan Shatter, Lucinda Creighton and Brian Hayes, Labour deputies John Lyons and Seán Kenny, and Senator Shane Ross.