Presidential premiere blazes a starry trail around the capital

THE SOCIAL NETWORK: The premiere of Lincoln on Sunday was a long day, with Dublin society getting a flavour of the exhausting…

THE SOCIAL NETWORK:The premiere of Lincoln on Sunday was a long day, with Dublin society getting a flavour of the exhausting Hollywood lifestyle of champagne, paparazzi and red carpets.

Starting with a reception at the Gresham hotel the MC, Mícheál O’Muircheartaigh, brought the proceedings down to earth when he opened by saying, “The Wicklow hurlers have won today” and compared the film’s star, Daniel Day-Lewis and director, Steven Spielberg, to giants on the GAA field. He also translated their names into Irish, which they seemed to enjoy. (I’m relying on a fuzzy audio recording but they sounded like “Dónal Lá Lewis” and “Stíofáin De Spielberg”.)

The pair, along with actor Sally Field, were in the room for 10 minutes before they left for the Savoy cinema. They were instantly surrounded as they spoke to President Michael D Higgins and his wife, Sabina.

The guests at the cinema included Bono, The Edge and Katie Taylor who also attended the ball at the Burlington in aid of the Wicklow Hospice. They posed for pictures, ordered copious amounts of champagne and bid generously in the auction but once the dancing began, the A-listers disappeared to a private bar. The night was in full swing until well after midnight, and Sinéad O’Connor was onstage with Paddy Cullivan and the Late Late Show house band.