Despite their pledge to outshine Ballybrit’s Galway Plate as the most notable trophy, Sam Maguire was a non-starter on the first day of the Galway racing festival due to the quiet return to the city of the defeated local football team. However, a combination of the All-Ireland hangover and a dreary Monday evening didn’t deter a jubilant kick-off to the week, largely due to the abundance of fashionably attired female attendees, for whom the festival is an everyday Ladies Day.
Amid the vivid hues of summer on display, Gabrielle Dunne, an Oranmore pharmacist, dared to choose an ensemble that looked like orange to the amateur eye. Barbara, her equally graceful sister who teaches art, wore a “sage green and ecru” outfit, according to Gabrielle. Barbara used the term “ombréed” to illustrate Gabrielle’s autumnal-themed hat, while describing her own colours as “gold and nude”. Their views on colour were not disputed.
Ladies Day aside, the Dunne sisters have a long-standing ritual of sporting trouser suits on the inaugural festival Monday, a recipe from their personal stylist, and mother, Marilyn. She utilises her daughters as models for her imaginative creations.
When it came to their betting choices in horse racing, both had hedged their bets on Pigeon House in the first race and fervently cheered as it came third, bringing them a decent start. Even mere retrieval of their original stake is always exciting, remarked Gabrielle.
Long before we discerned that Maria Walsh, a former Rose of Tralee and current MEP member from Fine Gael, was the one sporting it, a flamboyantly hued dress featuring a stylised female face had already turned many heads on the racecourse. It exuded the aura of an exotic trip souvenir, perhaps from Mali or Mauritius, but was actually procured in Malahide, as per Walsh, by one of her friends from the ‘Rose of Tralee’ circle.
Walsh, who secured her MEP seat once again this past June, was spotted accompanying a band of fellow Mayo natives, inclusive of her sister Eileen who had returned from Perth, Australia. Each of them was arrayed in outfits intended to leave a powerful impression, if not completely mesmerising. When queried if they would attend the real Ladies Day on Thursday, Walsh answered that they usually marked their presence on Mondays.
Another presence hailing from Mayo was their top suggestion for the third race, a horse bestowed with the name, ‘Truth be Told’. The advice to support this horse came from a duo of sisters residing in Knock. This advice felt more inclined towards prophecy rather than just a mere tip, though in reality, ‘Truth be Told’ only managed to finish fourth out of eight competitors. Any divine intervention seemed to favour the victorious horse, ‘Rock of Cashel’.