Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was guest of honour at a charity ball for Beaumont Hospital in the Burlington on Saturday night. He went to the podium and said it had been a dreadful day, we lost at rugby and we lost at soccer, so he wouldn't make a speech.
He donated the tie he wore for his first Budget to the auction and to great applause sat down after 90 seconds. The tie, which can't be very fashionable since it obviously dates from 1991, was sold for £1,400, no one knew to whom.
Then on Monday boxer Steve Collins rang the organisers to apologise for his absence from the ball. It still cost him money, however, he said, as his lawyer had bought the tie. Collins says he will wear it on judgment day in his long-running court case.