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Shelbourne Hotel’s new general manager isn’t cracking the whip but he plans to carry a sword. JP Kavanagh wants the hotel to be Ireland’s first ‘Caveau’ – meaning he will be part of an elite group trained for the ‘ridiculous but fun’ ritual of opening champagne bottles with the sweep of a golden sabre.

‘I’m a chevalier of the Sabre d’Or. Our sabre arrived last week,’ he said. A sight that is surely worth the price of a bottle of bubbly to see.