THE Queen's birthday passed off smoothly for the British embassy with a party for several hundred at the residence of the ambassador, Veronica Sutherland, at Glencairn in Sandyford, earlier this month. The diplomatic corps was there in force along with members of the civil service and representatives of our armed were in short supply, however, and only deputies Helen Keogh, Michael McDowell and Jim Mitchell were spotted. But then, by Friday most have left for their constituencies.
The Americans must be wishing their national day, next Thursday, will go off as well and that the weather will be just as calm and sunny. While their occasion has the potential to be spectacular and their week of festivities has the capital agog, they would never, a source told Quidnunc, have chosen to hold the party on the JFK if they had realised that it was too big to dock in Dublin. The problems of ferrying thousands of guests out, and crew in, are horrendous.
In addition, so extraordinary is the demand for invites, not just for the July 4th party for 1,200 but for every event, that there are several red faces around the embassy as a result of personal friends being dropped from the guest lists. Normally for this sort of function there is a mere 30 per cent acceptance from the A list of Government Ministers, politicians, senior civil servants, military, semi state bodies and so forth. This time, so enormous is the interest in the JFK and, despite some left wing refusals, there has been a acceptance rate of over 90 per cent which means hundreds of those on the B list, who normally attend such functions, will be excluded. Offence is being taken in some quarters.