Few are as ready as Desmond Fogarty from Dalkey. With a pair of opera glasses around his neck, he won't miss a move at tonight's performance in the National Concert Hall. He has come with his wife, Yvonne Fogarty, to hear a performance by up to nine pianists playing on up to four pianos. The special concert, Hands Across the Keys, is organised by the AXA Dublin International Piano Competition in order to raise funds for the Mark Governey Fund appeal. The National Concert Hall is packed to capacity with friends of the Governeys. The young man himself, who was seriously injured in a rugby match last year, is here but prefers to stay in the background, according to his father, Michael, general manager of the Conrad Hotel across the road, and his mother Elizabeth Governey, who are out front greeting friends.
One of the organisers, Annette Andrews, the wife of David Andrews TD, has come along with her son, David Andrews, who works as a comedian in Copenhagen under the stage name David MacSavage. He's thinking about moving back to Dublin. Enjoying the concert also is Father Cothrai Gogan, home on holidays from "Thika, in Kenya, where the flame trees come from". They're busy as usual at the Department of Foreign Affairs, says Joe Brennan, preparing to welcome Her Imperial Highness Princess Sayaka of Japan to Ireland next month.
Cyril Forbes, former chairman of the Crafts Council of Ireland, is here with his wife, Jill Forbes. He compliments broadcaster Carrie Crowley on her recent radio interview with Mark Governey. "There was nothing maudlin in it. It was stunning," he tells her. Olive Braiden is here, sad that it's her last week as director of the Rape Crisis Centre. She's returning to academia to do a Masters on women and the law. She attends the concert with her husband, Sean Braiden.