Would it be safe to walk up the avenue? Halt, identification, please, they said. Those arriving by foot or car were screened carefully before they were waved through and allowed to attend the RTÉ Farmleigh Proms 2003 this week.
Brian Sweeney, estate manager, spoke earnestly into his walkie-talkie. Everything was going according to plan, but he would not have time to talk to reporters. Still, the conductor for the evening, Robert Lamb, Professor of Jazz Studies at Trinity College, London, did.
Lamb recalled working as a trombonist with some of the greats, such as Sinatra, Sammy Davis Junior and Bing Crosby. The Cork composer and arranger first learned to play with the Butter Exchange Band. He sat with his wife, Margaret Lamb, and her sister, Kathleen Daly, before the show, having a little refreshment at a picnic table, hoping it wouldn't rain.
There were some evening gowns and strappy sandals but Pamela McCann, from Harold's Cross, and Margaret Ennis, from Clondalkin, came well prepared for the performance, (which was about to begin shortly under the marquee) with raincoats and umbrellas. "We know," they said wisely, looking up at the sky.
As the proms continued through the week, drawing about 8,000 people eager to hear a selection of music ranging from Glen Miller to Abba, Niall Doyle, director of music at RTÉ, and Lynda Hendley, of the Office of Public Worlds, were more than pleased with the demand.
The rain might have been threatening but whatever the weather, soloist Emer McParland, in a long red dress, was going to sing It's Too Darn Hot.
David and Margaret Madden from Swords enjoyed a picnic before the show. Maura Cusheen and Carmel McDonald, from the Coombe, came along to hear Glen Miller's music. Everyone was ready to tap their feet, if only they could sing Baby, it's Too Darn Hot and mean it.