While most of the country stayed in last night to bid farewell to the longest-running television show in history, a goodly crowd gathered at O'Reilly Hall in Belfield for this year's Faberge Ball, designed to raise money for the Khoytylovo Orphanage in western Russia. As guests filed in, they were greeted with a new kind of cocktail made with Red Square vodka, sure to keep the revellers' energy levels up right into the small hours of the night. Companies which had taken tables for the ball included Jefferson Smurfit, Kilroy Solicitors, All Ireland Media Limited, Compaq and First Active.
It turned out to be a highly eventful evening. Not every charity auction includes a Connemara pony (donated by John Riordan), a painting by Brett McEntagart and a holiday for two in Spain. Those competing for the pony included the Russian ambassador, Evguine Mikhalov, the Russian consul Alexander Picalov, and Debbie Deegan, the director of the charity known as To Russia with Love.