Roisin Ingle tastes the atmosphere at Ballybrit
Wily festival-goers know how to beat the interminable racing traffic and helicopters buzzed around Ballybrit with even greater frequency yesterday.
All day long, VIPs and serious enthusiasts took to the air to see the Galway Festival's big race. Things are beginning to hot up at the racecourse, and now the punters are wondering when the weather will follow suit.
Despite the clouds and a biting breeze, the long bar was packed from early afternoon and the bookies had smiles on their faces in anticipation of another day of record-breaking betting. The attendance was slightly down on last year, at just over the 26,000 mark, the organisers said.
You couldn't move around the packed venue yesterday without bumping into a politician of some hue. Newly-elected Progressive Democrat TD Fiona O'Malley stood out in her red Chinese smoking jacket, a present from her father, Dessie.
This was her first visit to the Galway meeting in 15 years. "And my first time going racing as a TD," she said. Accompanying her was boyfriend Mike Standish. The couple are off to Scotland and the Lake District for their holidays, but first there was some betting to be done.
Local girls Patricia Burke (15) and Aileen Cunningham (14) said that they were there to enjoy the racing. "But it's everything, the racing, the crack, the atmosphere," said Patricia. "And it's Galway. So that means it's definitely brilliant."
The wind caused problems for those sporting precariously-fastened hats, while the long white beard of Co Louth racing enthusiast Frank Loughran danced wildly in the breeze. "It's blowing the dandruff out of it anyway," he said, taking a huge gulp of a pint of Guinness. "I'm not having very good luck this year, but I'm hoping that might change soon."
On the eve of Ladies' Day, Derville Hoey, from Bellewstown, Co Meath, wore feathers in her hair. "Depending on the weather, I'll be wearing a pale-pink trouser suit on the day," she said as the queues outside the champagne tent grew.
Her mother, Ita, has been coming to the festival for 30 years. "Everybody we know is here," she said. "They all come out of the woodwork and it's fantastic to meet people you haven't seen for a while."
Junior Minister Tom Kitt looked dashing in a green suit and a blue open-necked shirt. "I'm originally from Galway, so I'm not just here because of the Fianna Fáil connection," he said in a reference to the day-long hooley which the party was throwing in the hospitality village.
Fate appeared to be grinning down on the Soldiers of Destiny. The Fianna Fáil tent was packed with ministers counting their winnings.
Consistently lucky Junior Minister Jim McDaid looked happy as he told journalists how he had fared. Unlike most of the crowd, Dr McDaid revealed that he had placed a €50 bet on the winner of the Galway Plate, Rockholm Boy, which came in at 20-1. It was a profitable day out for the Donegal TD, as he also put down €100 each way on the horse which came in second.
As champagne glasses chinked, Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy could be heard dispensing betting advice. "Be selective," he said. Whatever about the Government's financial state, he was personally up money by yesterday afternoon. "I have a small surplus."
The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, went on another walkabout around Ballybrit, to the delight of the crowds, who rushed at him to sign their race cards.
Also in attendance were Attorney General Rory Brady, Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh, former rugby international Mick Galwey, Sports Minister John O'Donoghue and former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, who hasn't missed the Galway summer festival for more than 30 years.
Suzanne Weldon, marketing and communications director for the Special Olympics, cut a dash in a large red hat in the company of the organisation's chief executive, Mary Davis.