It sure helps to have friends in high places. It's not every travel agency that could open the doors of its new, improved premises with a party boasting the two First Men of Irish society - an Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern and Irish soccer team captain, Mick McCarthy - but such was the case with Ray Treacy Travel. Of course, it helps if you played for Ireland 46 times as Ray did, albeit more than 20 years ago.
The agency is in the same complex as the new Isaac's Hotel in Store Street, a very "swept up" version of their successful hostel chain, and both business celebrated together on Monday night. Bertie Ahern seemed delighted to be on his old turf and quipped that at last "people were copping on to the better parts of town" - such as his constituency.
Treacy was looking unseasonably tanned but protested that it was all work and no play - he's off to Australia next to start planning Irish tourism for the Olympics. Besides Mick McCarthy, who was besieged by small boys looking for autographs, there was a fine sprinkling of other sports people including champion runner Eamon Coughlan, hurlers D.J. Carey and Nicky English, and rugby's Tony Ward.
The room also had a non-sporting side too - comedian Brendan O'Carroll was there, fresh from the editing suite where he was working on his movie The Spar- row Trap. "Magic. The best seven weeks I've ever had," he cried when asked about his weeks on set. Singer Mary Black managed to take time out of a busy schedule to pop in for half an hour, while other music folk included Eamon Campbell of the Dubliners and Pete St John, the man who wrote the epic Dublin In The Rare Auld Times.
There was a very energetic string quartet in attendance called The Graffiti Classics. They were headed up by Cathal O Duill, son of RTE's Brendan O Duill. The quartet was first spotted by Isaac's co-owner Richard Evans (his business partner is Basil Good) in Covent Garden. As the evening went on and got a little more raucous, the quartet was replaced by former Dublin City Rambler Patsy Watchorn and friends. As they kept the music going, what was Tony Gregory TD to do but join in with a heartfelt rendition of Little Old Wine Drinker Me? The party continued on into the night and Ray Treacy, Basil Good and Richard Evans were considered good all-round sports.