Cowboy hats and summer dresses at President’s first garden party

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, Press Association

Line dancers, Gaza students and GAA clubs attended the first garden party of Catherine Connolly’s presidency on Wednesday.

About 350 guests gathered in their finery to meet the president and mingle on a sunny June afternoon.

Among the attendees were a group of women sporting sparkly cowboy hats, including Vera Hayes and Maureen Kelleher, from the Togher Family Centre in Cork, which Connolly visited in recent weeks.

Hayes said the centre was set up about 50 years ago and they have volunteered there for years.

“The president came to our centre three weeks ago, and I actually said it to her, she was shaking my hand saying goodbye and I said, ‘Don’t forget us if you’re having a garden party’.

“They all said, ‘what did you say’, and on the Friday, we got it (the invite).”

Kelleher said Connolly is “a lovely lady” and is “very natural” with people and was not in a hurry to “go away”.

Hayes added: “We did a line dancing exhibition for her when she was down in our centre, and she said, ‘when you come to the Áras, you have to do a line dance. So we brought our hats.

“And we’re hoping to get everybody on the floor. We’re actually going to do the Galway Girl, because she got the Galway Freedom of the City on Friday.”

Muriel Shiels, from the recently set up Dunleer Women’s Shed in Co Louth, was also in attendance.

“We’re here because we’re in the process of setting up a women’s shed and we just wanted to meet other community groups.

“We felt there was a need for a safe women’s space, there is a very good active retirement group for men and women so we just wanted somewhere for women to come together.”

Asked about Connolly, she said: “I think she’s great, I think she’s doing a great job. A great representative for Ireland.”

The Havana Club Trio performed, featuring young singer Daphne Hernandez, who was a recent finalist for Ireland in the Junior Eurovision competition.

The band have played 32 times at Áras an Uachtaráin and said it was now feeling “like home”.

“It has been amazing, the weather has been behaving, we always bring the weather,” band member Tony Oscar said.

“She’s cool,” he said of Ms Connolly.

“During the photo op and we were next to the president, she said we were looking good and asked, ‘any spare Panama hat?’ We promised her we would bring her one next week so she would look like one of us.”

Addressing the room, Connolly said it was a “very, very special occasion” for her to host her first garden party.

“I am delighted to have had the opportunity to chat to you and I hope you have a wonderful and an enjoyable afternoon of music, dancing and celebration.

She thanked the gardeners, the OPW, the protocol staff, the musicians, An Garda Síochana, the aide-de-camp, the Civil Defence, and those who made the booklets for the event.

“I want to wish you a very, very enjoyable afternoon and a safe journey home.”

The menu included pesto sandwiches, smoked salmon and vegetarian tartlets, and mini scones, cakes, biscuits and fruits.