There was an empty feeling at Vicar Street this week. A loud celebratory evening was planned to celebrate the launch of TG4's autumn/winter schedule but, out of respect and sympathy, Vicar Street was a quieter, more sombre place.
All the participants who had come along to toast the new season's programming schedule preferred to sit and chat. Nothing seemed all that important really. There was no music, no dancing, no heightened sense of fun. The dark disco lighting of the venue was without sparkle.
"Is m≤r an tubaist Θ," a d·irt Seosamh Mac Donncha, chairman of the TG4 board. "Is ·afβsach an trag≤id ∅." N∅ fΘidir aon rud eile a rβ.
Presenters Cian ╙ C∅obhβin and Hector ╙ hEochagβin, along with cameraman Paschal Cassidy, from Elfin in Co Roscommon, who were due to travel to Ibiza to make a documentary on the disco culture there, were expecting to leave this week. Perhaps they'll have to wait. Like many others, their plans were now up in the air.
A gala Brown Thomas fashion evening, which was due to take place at the Canadian ambassador's residence on Strathmore Hill in Killiney to raise money for the Irish Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children, was cancelled following news of the atrocities in the States. None of the 250 ticket-holders was in the mood to party.
The opening celebration for The Westin, Dublin's newest hotel, was also cancelled. "Our hearts go out to the families who have been affected by this terrible tragedy," said Enda Mullin, general manager.
A local party drew friends and neighbours to O'Dwyers on Lower Kilmacud Road in Stillorgan on Tuesday night, to celebrate six months of Suburb, a monthly magazine launched by Maxine Jones earlier this year. They went along, "prising themselves away from the TV news", said Jones.
Novelist John Kennedy, who is about to head to Frankfurt with his latest book, artist Jimmy Burns, illustrator Nicola Carew and gardener Medb McLoughlin were all present to raise a glass to the publishing venture. The magazine serves south Dublin, from Donnybrook to Bray, and focuses, in particular, on local news and issues.
Others at the party included Jan Duffy and Sylvia Pilotto from the Pavilion Theatre in D·n Laoghaire; Betty Nunan, who is about to publish a book about her travels in the Middle East; writer Marian Keyes; and Nuala Cronin, a local teacher who plays in the Hibernian Chamber Orchestra.
"Demand for the magazine has trebled since the last issue," said Jones. "I've hardly any left for this month."