Some jaws drop. Nicky Byrne, from Westlife, his blond fringe bobbing in the disco lights, makes his way to table 31. In glitzy dresses with shoelace straps, Danielle Small (12), from Galway, and Jenni Dempsey (13), from Dublin, race up with pens and paper to ask for his autograph. The star obliges. It's heart-stopping to see them look up at him.
The Miss Ireland Millennium Pageant is in full swing in the Burlington Hotel. Kieran Murray, its director, like a gelled-up Bill Sykes, is about to take his place at his own table with his wife, Louise Murray. It's almost time to get the show on the road. Thirty-one contestants from all over Ireland are about to walk the plank and parade for the assembled guests.
Knives are prone at the Advanced Cosmetic Surgery table. Phew. Not for long though - roast prime rib will be served shortly. The table's hostess, Halina Ashdown Sheils, proprietor of the ACS company, owns she is 49 and has had cosmetic surgery "purely for vanity". Has her partner, Jeffrey Bur- ton, had any surgery? Well, yes, he had a mole removed - but then, the woman from Yorkshire adds, "he's gorgeous, he didn't need it". Jeffrey (no relation to Richard, by the way) smiles all the while. Sitting at the same table are Dubliners Enda Murphy and Naomi Donohoe, who plan to get married at the end of October.
The Galway supporters up for the night to cheer on Miss Galway, Sophia Small, include Paul Carr and Kara Hanley, and Ciaran Levanzin and Rhona Griffin. Denis and Margaret O'Neill, also from Galway, are cheering on their daughter, Elaine O'Neill, who is Miss Irish Sun. Sitting beside them are journalist Paddy Clancy and his wife, Bernadette.
Before the night is out, Yvonne Ellard, from Tipperary town, is crowned the new Miss Ireland. May she reign in peace.