Ryan Hotels' chairman Conor McCarthy's recent remarks about the absence of top management at Bord Failte brought a wry smile to some old hands in the industry. Conor was always Bord Failte's keenest fan and it was no surprise to those in the business to see him coming to its aid in an hour of need.

We hear that Bord Failte's chairman has received 60 applications for the vacant post of director-general and he is gratified at the quality. No doubt some of them will be on hand in the Berkeley Court Hotel in Dublin on July 16th when Tourism Minister Jim McDaid hosts a reception to mark the 90th birthday of the first director-general of Bord Failte, Dr Tim O'Driscoll.