At Whelan's on Dublin's Wexford Street, a young cellist made her debut with the group, Happy Stack. Friends, relatives and admirers gathered in the dim light to hear her play solo. Beth O'Halloran, a Dublin artist, was launched onto her musical career to tumultuous applause.
She insists she can't play the cello (she took it up 10 months ago) but there she was on stage and everyone cheered when the other musicians - including Julie Cruicshank, from Tuam, Co Galway, on piano - paused to allow her rich, stringed sounds to weave their spell.
The crowd erupted. Among them was Beth's sister, a postgraduate student who came back after a number of years in Japan last year to continue her studies. She sneaked close to the stage with her camera to record her sister's big moment.
In true diva fashion, Beth looked up, gave us a dazzling smile and a regal bow. It was "worth waiting for," they said afterwards.
Felicity Clear, a Dublin-based artist, was delighted. Conn O'Brien, a portrait painter from Dublin, who first met Beth at Mount Anville's Montessori School in 1973, said he'd fallen in love with her back then. He had a bit of explaining to do when his girlfriend, model Sarah Seigne, returned.