Women and men rose to applaud the President, Mrs McAleese, when she was named Irish Tatler Woman of the Year at a function in Dublin this week. Others singled out for the 2002 awards included writer Edna O'Brien, comedian Deirdre O'Kane, actor and writer Pauline McLynn, and singer Juliet Turner, who picked up the newcomer award.
Some of the less well-known winners included Janet Grey, from Hillsborough, Co Down, who has won a number of world waterskiing championships in spite of being blind; Cathleen O'Neill from Kilbarrack, Dublin, who works in adult education with women recovering from drug abuse, and Sinéad Jennings, the first Irish woman to win gold in the world rowing championships last year.
McLynn flew in from Australia, where she had been taking part in the Brisbane Writers Festival. Her third novel, Right on Time, is due out shortly. Turner flew in from New York, where she is currently writing songs.
Edna O'Brien is looking forward to having three new plays produced - one in the UK, one in the US and one in India. First, there's an adaptation of the Greek play, Iphigenia, soon to run in The Crucible in Sheffield; then Triptych, a play about a wife, a mistress and a daughter, which will be staged in the US soon - "It's about love and jealousy and emotional territorial fierceness" - and The Trojan Women, which will be directed by Ratan Thiyam in India before he brings it to Europe.
The guests gathered for the black-tie affair in the Four Seasons Hotel. O'Kane's husband, Stephen Bradley, who has directed the live video of O'Kane's latest show, is about to begin work on a new film called Hiding Places. Set in Dublin, it is being written by Irishman Brian Fitzgibbon, who lives in Iceland, and will be produced by Michael Garland.
Cathleen O'Neill, who was accompanied by colleagues Janet Colgan and Joan Byrne, was the focus of the documentary, Born Bolshie, by Louis Lentin, screened on RTÉ recently. The adult education agency she works for, SAOL, plans to open a respite home in Edgeworthstown, Co Longford. First, SAOL has to raise €100,000, so the pressure is on as the plan is to open in spring 2003.
In all, there were 11 awards. The other recipients were business woman Gillian Bowler, newscaster Anne Doyle and singer Mary Coughlan. The winners were nominated by readers of the Irish Tatler magazine and judged by a panel of 12 judges, chaired by Norma Smurfit, who presented the awards with Vanessa Harris, editor of Irish Tatler.