The season of summer balls, fêtes and gala get-togethers is now upon us. Kicking off last week with the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards in Dublin Castle, there were quiet intakes of breath when Barney Whelan, the warm and music-loving ESB public relations manager, told one or two close friends that he is about to begin a new job with SafeFood, the Food Safety Promotion Board which was set up under the Good Friday agreement as one of six North/South implementation bodies.
Whelan won "sponsorship manager of the year" at the National Sales and Marketing Awards earlier this year. Go n-eirí do bhóthar leat, a dhuine uasail.
Then, for those with stamina, the Media Ball in the RDS, is just around the corner too on Saturday, June 29th - the place where love stories begin. Again the ball, chaired by RTÉ's Eileen Dunne, is being sponsored largely by the food group, IAWS, with money going to charities such as Tom Hyland's East Timor Project and the Alice Leahy Trust for the Homeless.
For those with their minds on winning at the races, the Pre-Derby Ball on Friday, June 28th, will be hosted in Dublin by the World Mercy Fund. The night's line-up includes an auction of holidays - to Barbados, Dubai and Cannes.
Later in the summer, Charlie and Emily Naper, of Loughcrew House, Co Meath, are preparing to entertain guests in their gardens with opera and champagne, over two nights. On the last Friday and Saturday of July, The Barber of Seville will be performed by the Covent Garden-based company, Opera À La Carte. Money raised will go to St Patrick's Hospital, Dublin.
While later still in the summer, Race Ball Galway takes place on Friday, August 2nd. This gala night is expected to raise €60,000 for Irish charities. Members of the racing world will be there including stud owners, trainers, bookmakers and jockeys. The ball takes place at Galway's Radisson SAS Hotel. Now is the time to book.