What a Week!

The Ball is over for another year! See the pictures!

Well, the St Patrick's Day Ball and the Irish week are behind us but what a week it was. The week started with a visit from former Irish President and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and UN human rights commissioner (click photo, below, for links to pictures)  and ended with the St Patrick's Day Ball closely followed (for some, very closely) by the St Patrick's Day Lunch and a chance for a wee “hair o the dog”.

The ball was a runaway success with 320 revelers eating, drinking and dancing well into the night (See the Khaleej Times report here, and click on the links on the right for our photos). 

We were entertained by the Abu Dhabi Irish Society traditional dance group, Gary and Chloe Collins of Lord of the Dance fame, Mick Giblin and Inisheer, traditional Irish band and Funkytown, a lively band flown in from Ireland for the night. We had the best of Irish fare created by award winning chef, Derek Flynn and presented by Chef Carl and his team from the Crowne plaza.

Now, you may be thinking is that it? Well not by a long stretch. Only today, 21 March, we had the Irish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and Ireland's Minister for Education, Mrs. Mary Hanafin (left, click for larger image) attend a luncheon. A cross- section of Irish teachers working in the Abu Dhabi education sector were invited. Mrs. Hanafin praised their work and commented on the quality of teachers which Ireland has produced.

What's Next?

The next big event to be hosted by the Abu Dhabi Irish Society will be the Rose of Tralee regional selection ball. This is penned in for the 27th April so if you know of any potential Roses then please nominate them or ask them to come forward. Who knows, it could be next stop, The Dome.

The Tribal Bash which is the charity event run by the Crowne Plaza will be held at the end of June and if you are planning to escape the heat and travel to greener pastures this is an excellent opportunity to say farewell to colleagues and friends.

Well that's it from me but please keep checking the website for further updates of events.

Regards
 
Joe Somers,
President, Abu Dhabi Irish Society

Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and UN human rights commissioner, charmed all of us with her easy manner and warmth, but her commitment to the less fortunate is still clear. Read more and see the pics...(alternative Flash version here)

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