Irish Throw a Lively Party in a Serious Vein

“Linens and Lace” does not sound like a very masculine title for a party honoring two guys like U.S. Ambassador to Mexico John Gavin and San Diego County Sheriff John Duffy.

But it was the perfect name for the Ireland Fund’s third annual Southern California Dinner Dance, since linen and lace (along with peat-flavored whiskey) are among Ireland’s most famous products.

About 350 sons and daughters of Ireland (and other lands) converged on the Sheraton Harbor Island East’s Champagne Ballroom Friday evening for a convivial get-together that had a decidedly serious purpose: the raising of money for the Ireland Fund’s goal of fostering peace, culture and charity in that troubled country. The group maintains a nonpolitical and non-sectarian stance.

All in all, it proved to be a rather splashy party, and one that had more than a touch of St. Patrick’s Day to it. Many of the women wore green, a shade that most of the men repeated in their ties and cummerbunds. The entertainment also caught the mood; during the lengthy cocktail reception, the Paradise Street Band rapped out Irish folk songs with such fervor that committee member Tere Shea was moved to exclaim, “You have to have Irish in your blood to play that well!”

At dinner, youngsters from the Plummer Studios reeled energetically through a series of lively jigs, and tenor Patrick Biggs sang both the American and Irish national anthems. (He later returned to the stage with a rendition of “Danny Boy” that left few eyes unmisted.)

Gavin arrived in the company of his Stanford roommate and fraternity brother, Gordon Luce, at whose home the actor-turned-ambassador usually stays when in town. Also in the group were Karon Luce; Gavin’s mother, Bee Golenor, and his mother-in-law, Ardath Towers. Gavin’s wife, actress Constance Towers, had planned to attend, but was called to New York by the demands of her work schedule.

Quite a few other guests rolled in from out of town, including Ireland Fund co-founder Bob Fitzgerald (first cousin to the late President John F. Kennedy); former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland

Peter Dailey and his wife, Jackie, and Ireland Fund Chairman Anthony J.F. O’Reilly, a Dublin native who now resides in Pittsburgh and presides over the H. J. Heinz Co.

O’Reilly took the podium early in the evening, since he had to leave the party in time to make a flight to Australia. The hurry by no means left him breathless, though; he took time to quote several witticisms, including one attributed to Samuel Johnson that states: “The Irish are a fair people. They never speak well of one another.”

But O’Reilly spoke well of the Ireland Fund’s supporters. “Ireland is in its hour of need,” he said. “Your generosity in giving resonates very loudly in your ancestral homeland. It supports the trinity of peace, charity and culture.”

Another famous Irishman, President Ronald Reagan, attended the party via videotape. Both Gavin and Duffy were honored--and surprised--by videotaped tributes that brought the greetings of friends and well-wishers who were unable to attend in person. The Gavin tape included a message from movie maker Ross Hunter, who rather startled some members of the audience when he suggested that Gavin should be elected President of the United States.

Gavin was honored as Southern California Irishman of the Year (following in the footsteps of Steve Garvey, who took the title in 1984), and Duffy for his efforts to unite San Diego’s Irish community. Apropos the silver cup awarded him for his labors, Duffy said, “This seems appropriate for an Irishman. The only thing missing is the Bushmills,” a brand of Irish whiskey.

The guests enjoyed a menu that ignored Irish cuisine in favor of French, and included lobster bisque, chicken Wellington and St. Honore cake. In keeping with the event’s theme, the women received lace-wrapped sachets as party favors, and the men Irish linen handkerchiefs.

Dan Broderick chaired the dinner, and among those present were local Ireland Fund Chairman John Lynch and his wife, Cathy; Jane and John Pentelei-Molnar; Connie and Larry Cronin; Ann Evans; Colleen and Terry O’Malley; Marilyn and Hy Miller; Msgr. William Cuddihy (he gave the invocation); Vicki McClure; Sally Corson, and Steve Schreiner.

The Ireland Fund dinner capped a long day for Carol Alessio and Alison Tibbitts, who that morning served as chairman and co-chairman of “Wine, Women and Song,” the 29th annual fashion luncheon given by the University of San Diego Auxiliary.

“USD and wine are two of my favorite things,” Alessio said in explaining her choice of the day’s theme. Her enthusiasms appeared to be shared in the community, since 900 guests (mostly women, although there were a few men in the crowd) assembled at the Town & Country’s Mission Ballroom for a luncheon of chicken salad, and a fashion show presented by Robinson’s.

The event tilted repeatedly toward romance; strolling violinists passed among the tables playing love ballads, and each woman received a small bottle of Seduction du Corps (“seduction of the body”) perfume as a party favor. Guests who sat at patron’s tables also received silver-plated bottle stoppers, which they could use, if they chose, to cork up the remains of the wines donated to the luncheon by the Gallo Vineyards.

The USD administration was well-represented and included President Author Hughes and his wife, Marge; Sister Sally Furay, vice president for academic affairs, and Sister Virginia McMonagle, director of constituent services. The day benefited the university’s financial aid program, and Hughes thanked the audience for its support by pointing out that these monies come at a time when federal and state funds are shrinking.

Many of the guests felt as if they were the heirs of Damocles, since three enormous nets suspended over the crowd contained masses of red, white and black balloons. These finally were released in a blitz of color and explosions (they provoked a merry storm of laughter as guests batted them from table to table), but not until the audience had been treated to a show that was, typically for Robinson’s, as much an entertainment as a fashion presentation.

It opened with bagpipes and dancers performing the Highland Fling (guests sitting near the stage discovered exactly what is worn, or rather not worn, under kilts), and continued with interludes of modern dance and other amusements interspersed among a parade of fashions.

USD Auxiliary President Rita Neeper attended as the official representative of that body, and the committee included Lee Maturo, Christiane Guittard, Irma O’Connor, Michelle Battaglia, Ann Brown, Linda Moore, Gayle Stephenson, and Nancy Hester.

Serving as hostesses were Vickie Mogilner, Mac Canty, Kay Determan, Liz Armstrong, Suzanne Pettigrew, Helen Pickard, Marsha Jespersen, Dawn Matthiesen, Sandra Vecchione, and members of the Alcala Women’s Club, a volunteer organization composed of USD students.

SAN FRANCISCO--Rather like a pair of impish magicians, Jeanne and Larry Lawrence used mirrors to conjure up a stylish, pre-Halloween good time for the dozen or so San Diego pals who flew up to the City by the Bay for Jeanne’s Oct. 29 birthday.

The mirrors--which reflected the likes of Ted and Audrey Geisel, Kay and David Porter, Jeanne Jones, and Linda Chester--lined the walls of the Sybaritic 24th-floor aerie in the new Montgomery-Washington Tower that was used as the launching pad for several days festivities. Michael Taylor, one of the reigning princes of San Francisco’s decorator corps, literally lined the residence with mirrors, so that every surface seemed reflective. Phyllis Parrish, who flew up with her husband, John, was so stricken by the design that she asked, “Could you imagine walking around here looking bad? “

Jeanne’s birthday presaged the opening (the following night) of the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, which had a reputation sufficiently grand to entice most of the San Diegans in town to stay over for it. But the birthday party itself was the real celebration to attend; all stops were pulled, no holds were barred, and it was, indeed, something to see.

San Francisco caterers actually seem to know what good food tastes like, and this particular caterer sent out endless trays of canapes, which the guests washed down with Louis Roederer Crystal champagne. Huge clusters of helium balloons strained against the ceiling in every room, and as the party reached one of its several urbane crescendos, the Lawrences carried a bunch to the terrace and released them to the night winds.

Veryl and Aage Frederiksen, Nancy and Henry Hester, and Patrick Abarta also made the birthday scene; they mingled with 100 or so San Franciscans that included Giants owner Bob Lurie; California Supreme Court Justice Stanley Mosk; Tiffany Vice President Charles Dishman; Magnin family patriarch Cyril Magnin; Victor Gotti, who owns the famous Ernie’s restaurant, and Lia Belli, whose husband, attorney Melvin Belli, was in Tibet.