IT WAS the return of the prodigal soiree. After an absence of two years, the Trinity Ball came back with a bang, giving students past and present a chance to relive the halcyon days of tuxedos and evening gowns.
Tickets for the 1997 Trinity Ball, held in the grounds of the college last night, sold out in record time, but would-be partygoers had to wait until yesterday to secure their ticket to the hottest social event of the college year.
By 10 p.m. it was claimed touts were getting up to £100 a ticket outside the front gates.
Security was tight on the eve of the revived Trinity Ball, but if anybody managed to sneak into the grounds of the college without paying the £35 entry fee, they weren't about to confess.
For the first time in the ball's history, tickets were sold on a per person basis, suggesting that the modern 3rd level student doesn't need to be part of a couple to enjoy the delights of the evening.
As the guests queued along Lower Grafton Street, the rain threatened to dampen their spirits, but once inside the college grounds, everybody's thoughts were on drink and celebration. This year's line-up of live acts included Revelino, The Frank And Walters, Dreadzone and The Specials, and a posse of DJs kept everybody dancing until dawn.
The front square had been turned into a pyramid, and DJs David Holmes and Billy Nasty kept the cobblestones pumping with house beats throughout the knight. Some of the punters had come prepared, wearing plastic raincoats over their evening dresses.
Although this is the first time Dublin band Revelino played the Trinity Ball, it's not the first time for singer Brendan Tallon - he remembers performing here as lead singer of The Coletranes. "The last time I was here I met a girl whom I went out with for five years," says Brendan. "So hopefully this year
I'll meet the next one."
Tony Strickland, a veteran of the Trinity Ball, is only too glad to see the return of this eminent event. "It's my favourite day of the year," he said. "It's an excuse to party all night. I've missed it dreadfully for the past two years."
Will this year's ball equal the event's halcyon days in the 80s?
"Some of the bands are good, but not as good as, say, Public Enemy in 1989. The crowd are good, though, even though they are getting younger."
