On Friday 19th January, 370 or so members of the Irish business community attended our annual business lunch in the magnificent Concert Hall in the RDS. It was another high calibre event and it is a great credit to the club that this popular occasion was sold out yet again.

Rory Best, who many in the room were so familiar with from his years representing Ireland on the rugby pitch, was interviewed by broadcaster and journalist Richard Curran. Rory spoke broadly and generously about his youth, his experiences playing with Ireland, and about Ireland’s World Cup campaign and prospects for the Six Nations in an insightful and wide ranging conversation.
After lunch, CEO of An Post and Chair of Eir David McRedmond entertained the room in an interview with Richard Curran with stories of his formative years in Waterstones, his time leading TV3 and his current roles in An Post and Eir. An entrepreneur at heart, David’s often self-deprecating humour and obvious intelligence led to a most enjoyable discussion.

The afternoon was rounded off expertly by Paul Grimes, who led an auction of lots including a group training session with Dan Sheehan and hospitality packages for the Six Nations games against Italy and Scotland, followed by a raffle which included a long list of tremendous prizes.

We are very grateful to Rory, David, Richard and Paul for giving us their time, and we equally owe a debt of gratitude to the one and only Mano Ryan, our Master of Ceremonies, whose lightness of touch and good humour ensured that events ran smoothly and professionally.

Finally, a note of thanks to our headline sponsor MMPI, whose support of our annual business lunch has been so important, to those who donated lots for our auction and raffle prizes, to Stephanie Ojo for the many long hours she spent bringing pulling such a large event together, and to the rest of Business Lunch organising committee of Gavin Lee, Will Sparks, Mano Ryan, Andy Tallon and Stuart McCarron.

Headline Sponsor: MMPI

Donors of Raffle Prizes:

  • Peter MacCann, Merrion Hotel
  • David Quigley, Cliff at Lyons
  • Shane Mitchell
  • Stephen Cooney, Loyola Group
  • Aidan Marsh, Beauchamps
  • Alex McEvoy, Widan Sports Ltd
  • Willie Aherne, The Palace Bar
  • Niall Beatty, Sailors Home Whiskey
  • Simon Smyth, EMCO
  • Barry Nestor, Fade Agencies
  • Sigmoid Golf
  • Rob Mitchell, Mitchells Wines
  • With Taste
  • Comans
  • Pat Phelan, Ballymore