Winners show true colours at the races

THE SOCIAL NETWORK:Des Cahill tried to warm up the racing crowd at the cocktails and lunch during the Hennessy Gold Cup on Sunday. He was MC for guests at the Pavilion in Leopardstown Racecourse. Mind you, some of the guests were there for cocktails at 11:30am.

Godfrey Deeny, European editor of Fashion Wire Daily, was judging the Hennessy Best Dressed Lady in association with Design Centre. It was won by Margaret Connolly from Mullingar. When Des asked Godfrey what he was looking for in a lady, Godfrey replied "It's all about feeling good about yourself, which you clearly do."

Des wondered who else at the bash had been to Clongowes? Godfrey’s brother Arthur, popped up his hand. U2’s manager Paul McGuinness, who is also a Clongowes old boy, didn’t.

Paul’s wife, Kathy Gilfillan, said she had asked a bookie what odds he would give her for backing a horse to come in last. When the bookie asked her what exactly she knew about racing, she reassured him that she didn’t know anything, but that every horse she backed came in last.

Arthur’s Deeny’s wife, the art historian Síle Connaughton-Deeny, backed the Willie Mullins-trained Quel Esprit purely due to its colour. It was a grey horse and, she said, her mother always backed grey horses, which invariably won. So did Síle’s, and Pauric Sweeney escorted her from the Pavilion to the winner’s enclosure to cheer her horse in. It was Godfrey’s birthday on Valentine’s Day and he spent it at New York Fashion Week with his niece Leda Connaughton-Deeny, who works for MTV. The two went to see burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese perform in a giant glass of champagne at the Boom Boom Room in the Standard Hotel.

Who we spottedChartered accountant James Coyle; former taoiseach Liam Cosgrave appeared in the parade ring; Sybil Mulcahy of TV3's Morning Showand her sister Dr Elizabeth Mulcahy; comedian Risteard Cooper; Horse Racing Ireland's Tamso Doyle; Ken O'Reilly-Hyland; JP McManus's daughter-in-law Anne Marie McManus and her sister Vivienne Leavy; author Deirdre Purcell.

What we ateLots of canapes and lunch

What we drankHennessy-inspired cocktails

Palm Beach celebration of knight’s life

Tomorrow on Palm Beach, Edwina Sandys, sculptor and granddaughter of Winston Churchill, will celebrate the life of the late Desmond FitzGerald, Knight of Glin, with the New York Chapter of the Irish Georgian Society.

Desmond FitzGerald's daughter Catherine – who is married to The Wire'sDominic West – will be in attendance. Cocktails will be served in the home of Dr William A Dunn, followed by dinner down the road at the home of Fred Krehbiel and his wife Kay.

Those wishing to have cocktails only will have to fork out $150, while those wanting cocktails and dinner will pay $300.

Krehbiel owns Churchill House in Co Kerry and the recently restored Ballyfin House, which opened last year as a five-star hotel in Co Laois. The knight’s other daughter, Nesta, did a series of drawings for each of the rooms in the hotel.

Former US ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley is also attending tomorrow’s bashes. Tom knows all about sash windows, chair rails, chimneypieces and other Georgian signifiers. He and his second wife Leslie Fahrenkopf returned from the US to marry in Celbridge and have their reception at Castletown House in April 2009. The couple had twins last September: Grace Quinlan Foley and William Reed Foley.

Since moving on from his post as US ambassador here, Tom has also left the American diplomatic service and entered US politics. After a tough fight in the 2010 election for governor of Connecticut, he lost by just over 6,000 votes in a poll of more than a million.

While ambassador, Foley was famous for his outgoing nature and for the many parties in his residence in the Phoenix Park. His successor, the present incumbent Dan Rooney, is less visible on the social scene.

Also attending tomorrow are Donough Cahill, the executive director of the Irish Georgian Society; author Robert O’Byrne; Mary Apied, president of the Trinity Foundation; Dr Sheila O’Malley Fuchs, co-president of the Irish Georgian Society USA and a longtime IGS supporter; Peter Haveles, co-president of IGS USA; Chantal O’Sullivan, antique dealer; Christopher Monkhouse, the curator and chair of European Decorative Arts at the Art Institute of Chicago, which will be mounting a show of irish decorative arts in 2014.

A glam art evening

The former president of the High Court, Mr Justice Frederick Morris and his wife Valerie missed the opening of their daughter's exhibition at Gallery Number One in Dublin's Castle Street on Thursday evening. "My parents are in South Africa thawing out after Christmas," Melissa Mahon told me at the opening of Unnoticed Everyday– a show of photography and sculpture. Melissa, who lives in Bath, was joined by her husband, James, and her younger son Oliver who is on half-term from Brymore School, which specialises in farming.

Melissa's recently married sister, Imagemagazine editor Melanie Morris, was there with her husband Trevor Rigley. Melanie told me that Trevor bought her new shrubbery for St Valentine's Day including a topiary complete with fairy lights.

The owner of the gallery, David Douglas – from the Douglas family of Douglas Newman Good – is looking forward to his next show which features the work of rock photographer Gered Mankowitz, famous for his portraits of Jimi Hendrix.

David’s girlfriend, Laura Kinsella has just returned from an internship with Philip Treacy in London. Stephen Neary from Kerry was also enjoying the show. He works for Noelle Campbell-Sharp in the Origin Gallery and told me she is hosting an evening with Kíla at her Urban Retreat Gallery on Wednesday evening to raise money for Cill Rialaig artists’ retreat.

Who we spotted:Dee Breen of Kildare Village, whose baby daughter Ellie McVeigh celebrated her first birthday on St Valentine's Day; playwright and director Derek O'Connor; Alison Fanagan of A L Goodbody; Emily O'Donnell who was sporting a fab watch she got for St Valentine's Day; Tom McGurk and Caroline Kennedy left early to celebrate the birthday of Kennedy's godson, Milo Dunne.

What we drank:Wine, and beer in customised Heineken bottles with labels featuring Melissa's art.

A crimson lining at the ‘Cloudburst’ screening

Brenda Fricker was in great form at the opening of the 10th Jameson Dublin International Film Festival on Thursday evening when she arrived at the Savoy Cinema with Nell McCafferty. Fricker wondered if her hair was too short and wanted to make sure that people saw the crimson lining of her black coat. It was all in stark contrast to the Iftas last weekend, about which the actor had made some very controversial remarks.

The festival opened with a gala screening of Thom Fitzgerald's charming road movie Cloudburst, which stars Fricker and Olympia Dukakis as a lesbian couple who escape from their nursing home and head for Canada to get married. At the screening was festival director Gráinne Humphreys, who told me they'd been chasing Al Pacino for about five years and will finally bring him to Dublin on Monday to present his film Wilde Salomé.

Also enjoying Cloudburstwere Jillian Wildgoose of software company SAP, Liam Whitney of Irish Distillers, Galway investor John Walsh and solicitor Sinead Gallagher.

Standing room only

It would have been quite apt if Elton John's I'm Still Standingwas played as models sashayed past at the MS spring/summer 2012 fashion show in City Hall on Wednesday evening.

Alan Hughes and his husband Karl Broderick didn't even get a seat in the third row, never mind the front row. Hughes's Celebrity Family Fortuneskicks off tonight on TV3.

There were a few mumblings about the lack of welcome at the door. But the blues were soon transformed into a kaleidoscope of colour once the fashion show started. And a goodie bag of groceries, including vegetable spring rolls, and a bottle of Shiraz put smiles on many faces.

Who we spottedGallerist Suzanne MacDougald and her friend Norma Smurfit; florist James Bailie.

What we heard"I was waiting for the frozen food to appear on the catwalk," said one guest who thought the show a tad long.