The richest happiest and noisiest event to be at last week was the annual dinner of the Society of Chartered Surveyors, where estate agents vied to bring the wealthiest developers to their tables. All the important players who have made fortunes out of the Dublin property market in the present boom were there, most of them guests of the commercial and residential agents. The agents themselves spent much of the time rubber necking to see who was on the opposition's guest lists.

Most conspicuous was the contingent from Gunnes which hosted its own pre-dinner drinks party in a private suite in the Burlington. This was presided over by Pat Gunne who has proved just as good an entertainer as his late father, Fintan. The dinner itself attracted almost 1,000 property people, most of whom looked as though they were just out of nappies. Newly appointed minister Frank Fahy addressed the crowd, and attempted to remind them that not everyone has had it so good. Coming from a department which looks after the welfare of children, he encouraged the super-rich to be generous. There will be plenty of opportunities to spread some of the wealth around in the coming months with the People in Need charity revving up for another nationwide telethon in April. The organisation hopes to target developers in its bid to raise over £5 million for the underprivileged all over the country.