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The beauty of wearing the presidential blazer is that it has no “off season”.
There may be little or no cricket watching these autumn months but there’s no shortage of chat as dinner time moves into full swing.

When I first donned the blazer back in April I cherished the hope that it will still fit me after my year in office. No chance.

North or south of the border, the dinners have one thing in common: generous hospitality that does little for the waistline.

Another is the sense of community that cricket engenders. For example I have been much taken by the extent – particularly in the Dublin area – that club officials attend each other’s celebrations. And therein lies a problem if you just happen to be a speaker at each function.

I can think of a number of club and Union luminaries who have had to listen to me on as many as half a dozen occasions – with more to come! I apologised to one such unfortunate guest who replied wryly: “Please don’t worry – I’ve forgotten a few words in the middle!”

Truth to tell, I never tire of extolling the virtues of Irish cricket nor, more particularly, listening to others doing the honours. One such case was the objective voice of Michael Moriarty – the cricket-loving High Court judge who gave his name to the tribunal which looked into the financial dealings of, among others, the late Charles Haughey.

His articulate ways in front of the microphone at the Railway Union dinner were a delight, such that I was relieved to have preceded him. The judge who once managed the Ireland Under 19 team is not one to follow at a cricket dinner.

And the same can be said of that remarkable servant of Irish cricket, Trent Johnston, who took to the stage for a question and answer session at the Northern Cricket Union dinner in Belfast. He was a last minute replacement for the former England Test player Alec Stewart who unavoidably pulled out for family reasons and what a job Trent made of it: amusing, insightful and sure-footed. He did Cricket Ireland proud.

Off to Parliament Buildings at Stormont and a reception by the Minister responsible for sport, Carál Ní Chuilín, to thank volunteers who helped during the summer’s World Police and Fire Games held throughout Northern Ireland. Pictured with the Minister are (from left) David Morton (NCU PRO), Alan Neill and Louis Arneill of NIACUS, yours truly and former President, Richard Johnson.

The most unusual performer I’ve come across during the round of dinners said not a word about cricket. Rather he let his fiddle do the talking, hardly surprising given his stage name of Fiddler Adam. He brought the house down at the Civil Service North of Ireland club dinner at Stormont with a rumbustious performance that a presidential speech could never have followed.

Next up will be a visit home to the North-West Union bash, next day a return to that scene of the summer’s triumph at the Malahide club and then to Cork for the Munster Union’s celebration of awards. After that it will be a return to action on the field as Ireland head for Abu Dhabi to seek qualification for next year’s Twenty20 World Cup. Relief for the blazer!

Robin Walsh
Robin Walsh is making the dinner rounds and is hoping his blazer will still fit him in Abu Dhabi
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