IT'S always just a teeny bit unset to have some of your long cherished prejudices completely blown away over a single dinner.
Invited to Dublin Castle by a crowd of stock brokers, I expected to be blinded by loud red braces and competitive braying about five figure bonuses and performance sports cars. (Sorry about the very 80s cliche but Gordan Gekko has a lot to answer for!).
As it turned out, the staff of the English firm, Inter capital, are the epitome of caring, sharing duties. They were in Dublin to hand over a very large £174,000 cheque to Co-operation North who were naturally thrilled to receive this, their biggest ever single donation.
Every year the staff at the firm hold a charity day when the brokers donate all the revenue and commission, including their personal commission, to charity. This year Cooperation North was one of the nominated charities and they came over to present the cheque to the President, Mrs Robinson.
Joining the high powered Inter capital staff dining in Dublin Castle were Dubliners Declan Kelly and Peter O'Toole, who was there with his sister Triona and her husband, the head of Anglo Irish Bank, Sean Fitzpatrick. British Ambassador Veronica Sutherland, Justice John Blayney and Carmel Naughton, Co operation North's new chairman were also there.