The serious part of the gathering in York earlier this week of the British Irish InterParliamentary Body (BIIPB) was the address by the Northern Secretary, Mo Mowlam, and the debate on the body's future which concluded with a decision to defer the matter, pending other developments. The social highlight was the dinner at Castle Howard, the immense stately home of the Yorkshire branch of the Howards, familiar to millions as the setting for the TV series Brideshead Revisited. The 120 British and Irish parliamentarians, partners, officials and journalists were greeted with champagne in the domed central hall and entertained to a piano recital in the long gallery before they sat down. When the BIIPB organiser said they would set up a table plan, the Castle Howard people told him that would not be necessary, sir, as footmen were on hand for that sort of thing. And they were. There was a short tour of part of the ground floor, including the Brideshead makeup room where memorabilia from the series are on display, as well as priceless paintings and sculptures, but much of the house is roped off to visitors. Indeed the problems a house of this size presents were underlined forcibly by the sign "Beware Falling Masonry".
At dinner, the Hon Simon Howard, who lives in one wing, farms 2,000 acres and lets out another 8,000, was placed between Fianna Fail's Pascal Mooney and Fine Gael's Austin Currie. They discussed the Howard family history, including the two Howard wives of Henry VIII, and country pursuits such as shooting and fishing. The Irish Ambassador to London, Ted Barrington sat beside Annette Howard. Among the many parliamentarians present were the Irish co-chairman Michael O'Kennedy and co-chairmen Charlie Flanagan and Rory O'Hanlon, and Lord Rathcavan, otherwise known as Hugh O'Neill, a former financial editor of The Irish Times, who was chairman of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board for many years and is now a British member of the body. The new Labour MP Peter Temple Morris, who was also there, says he finds life much more pleasant now than with the Tories, but will not stand again.
After dinner, the Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire, Sir Marcus Worsley, brother of the Duchess of Kent, proposed the toasts. It was noticed that Sinn Fein's Caoimhghin O Caolain stood for "the Queen" but did not raise his glass; he did raise his glass for "the President".