At another event, in the half-light, it's whispered that the crypt of Christ Church Cathedral is packed with celebrities. Toni Colette, the star of Muriel's Wedding, is on a visit to Ireland. Film-maker John Boorman, his wife, Isabella Boorman, and their one-year-old daughter, Lili Boorman, are here. The actor, Adrian Dunbar, has come along. Actor John Hurt, with a nice bushy moustache, is here too. It's time to pray.
The man who calls us to pray is Kenji Yoshida, a Japanese artist, whose installation, The Act of Living is about to be launched by the Japanese ambassador, Kazuko Yokoo. "The East meets the West," she says. "But in the East as well as in the West the prayer for peace is the similar way - tranquillity, purity and calmness." The 76-year-old artist then speaks to us in French, in Japanese and - some are convinced - in Irish. He says "oiche mhaith" to us. Luckily a translation from Japanese of his speech is available. "What's birth? What's death? What's life?" he asks. "These questions have occupied more and more deeply my mind." The dean the Rev John Paterson, says the installation will be on view until Sunday, October 15th.
Conn O'Brien, "a painter of humans", says the installation is "absolutely stunning". Designer Lainey Keogh says "the cathedral is such a wonderful place to view something so serene". Today Keogh is down Clifden way, preparing to show her autumn/winter collection tomorrow as part of the Clifden Arts Festival.