Cher class... Taoiseach’s trio of iconic moments
Just when your diarist feared that all work and no play would make Leo Varadkar a dull boy, An Taoiseach finds time to enjoy himself once more.
And just in the nick of time too! Any longer and he’d have almost become as fatally boring as the rest of Dail Eireann!
“It was a weekend of feminist icons for me,”
Leo tells me. “Cher in the 3Arena on Friday. Margaret Atwood in the National Concert Hall on Saturday and the women’s hockey qualifier in Donnybrook on Sunday. I think I enjoyed the hockey the most. I didn’t realise that hockey was such a fast, skilful game.” What did he think of Cher? “She was good.
She has a great repertoire — from the Sonny & Cher days through to Mamma
Mia. It was good to see a real diverse crowd, too, with young, middle and old there.”
The diversity was magnified a little perchance because An T went to
Cher with his partner, Dr Matthew Barrett, and Virgin Media star Alan Hughes and his husband Karl Broderick. If that wasn’t enough excitement, the gang also met up with Nicky Logue and his beau Cathal Hogan.
The former was in the 3Arena in a semi-official capacity. Cher was staying all week in the fabulous 5-star hotel where Nicky is general manager — the InterContinental on Simmonscourt Road in Ballsbridge. No one will be unduly surprised to hear that Cher was in the Presidential Suite of the hotel. Leo is no stranger to the Presidential Suite there, of course, as he came to the
Sunday Independent Living magazine annual Christmas bash the year before last at that very palatial space. On Sunday Cher left for Belfast to perform at the SSE
Arena but returned to her Presidential Suite in Dublin.
But back to Leo. The weekend before last the
Fine Gael leader was sighted dining with Matt and two pals in Dublin’s trendiose new spot, Mister S on Camden Street. My Deep Throat tells me that the Taoiseach was tres caj in a sweater, jeans and trainers. An T and his group left a little before 11pm, having enjoyed the three courses, which included bubble pudding and salted carmel and banana. He was also in the Bernard Shaw in Portobello last Saturday night — after the Margaret Atwood at the NCH — with three pals. He was wearing a black T-shirt. And before you ask, no it wasn’t his beloved Fred Perry.