When the President, Mrs McAleese, greeted guests at the start of her Canadian tour at a formal dinner given in her honour by the Governor General in Ottawa earlier this month, the long black dress with red brocade and full-length jacket she was wearing was by a name becoming better known on the Irish fashion scene: Deborah Veale.
She is one of the exciting new talents to emerge in recent years. Born in Dublin, Deborah Veale has been living in Cork for five years and, while her manufacturing still take places for the most part in Dublin, Cork remains her creative hub. Her studio is in Montenotte.
"The President wearing our clothes, particularly at a glittering overseas occasion like this, gives us an opportunity to project on to other markets. It is a terrific boost to a label like ours which is still in its growth stage," says Deborah, who came to Cork because, as she puts it, her heart took her there.
"I fell in love with a Corkman and you know how hard it is to get a Corkman to move away from his city. The answer was for me to move down from Dublin."
As a designer, she has never regretted that decision.
She studied at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin 10 years ago. Now 35, she realises that theory and study can sometimes be in for a rude awakening when confronted by the real world, but for this young designer there was an early breakthrough.
She worked for the bigger chains in fashion's mass-market milieu, which taught her that the cutting edge of fashion often has nothing to do with patterns and designs.
When she moved to Cork, Blarney Woollen Mills began stocking her clothes. Now the Brown Thomas stores in Dublin and Cork have added her label to their collections where her name can be seen side by side with some of the major names in the field.
There have been other successes: McElhinney's of Donegal; the Design Centre in Dublin; MacBee's of Killarney; In Vogue of Limerick; Murphy's in Killarney; Design Platform in Clifden, Co Galway and Design Fusion in Cork are among those now stocking what has been described as her contemporary, feminine, classic tailoring.
As one season in the world of fashion ends, another begins and Deborah is just back from Paris where she sourced the fabrics to be used in next year's autumn-winter collection.
"Everything begins with the fabrics," she says. "There's the feel, the ideas come, sometimes it's trial and error on the factory floor. Often early ideas are rejected and redone. That's how it goes, but I think working out of Cork has given me a more concentrated focus."
Her partner, Charlie, who works in the drinks industry in the city, supports all she has been trying to achieve. Dyane Hanrahan from Cork, who comes from a marketing background, is the other vital part of the team and her 14-year-old daughter, Sorcha, is another admirer.
London looms, probably the US, Europe and Japan as well - because, in her view, there is no reason why a fashion house working out of Cork should not be able to make inroads into such markets.
Talking to an Irish fashion designer these days, it's inevitable that the conversation drifts to Paul Costelloe's recent tirade against Irish women and their fashion sense. Deborah takes a more placid approach.
"I know where Paul Costelloe was coming from but perhaps he expressed it poorly. The thing is that in Ireland we have not had a culture, a heritage of fashion, like the Italians and French, but Irish women have evolved wonderfully in terms of dress sense.
"They are more confident, they know what they want, and all of this is significant in terms of the Irish fashion industry, which is a small one, catering for a small market.
"Having said that, I greatly admire the way in which John Rocha, Louise Kennedy and Paul Costelloe have broken out and are now on the international scene. What he was saying, I think, is that fashion and dress sense are ingrained in the Italian and French cultures.
"The thing is that Irish creativity has been expressed otherwise, through literature, music and film. Now we are seeing the birth of a new creativity - fashion."
The Deborah Veale label is part of the new dawning. Having the President as a client has been an obvious recent bonus. Mrs McAleese wore garments by Deborah Veale on her recent visit to Australia, as well as on the Canadian trip.
During her years as US ambassador here, Mrs Jean Kennedy Smith was also happy to wear Deborah's label.
This is a tough business in which to operate - egos, high finance, difficult market conditions and intense competition all give the world of fashion a particular buzz. It hardly seemed likely that a new label should emerge from Cork to make a serious onslaught on the scene, but that is what has happened.
Before the President wears a Deborah Veale outfit, she is seen in the Aras by the designer. There are drawings, discussions, fittings. Deborah is reluctant to say any more about the client-designer relationship but it can only be a plus when the Head of State wears your clothes.
Deborah was also commissioned to design uniforms for some of the staff at the Aras. Anyone who thinks fashion is just about getting creative ideas and executing them is quickly disabused of that notion when listening to one engrossed in the business.
It comes down to hard graft, long hours and a driven belief in one's own ability. It requires staying power because this is a business in which creativity meets finance and marketing.
"This is an eat-it sleep-it business but I love it. The future looks good," says Deborah, obviously thriving on her success.