It was just about this time, two years ago when they really got us.

The restaurant in Mary Street had been sold but we were filling out our time there for the last few weeks before finally shutting up the shop.

I got a phone call from a lecturer I knew in the college wanting to book forty Finns, a delegation to the Art Department, for the first Saturday in June.
This would fill the restaurant but have been a fairly normal booking from the college, they often booked in large parties, and as it was to be one of our last Saturdays ,I was quite happy to get it out of the way with a large anonymous crowd.
(Things were getting fairly tearful at this stage and we had had to console several customers, not all ladies, who had started to weep into their desserts remembering the good times over the last fifteen years)

Nothing had happened during the day to make me suspicious, the college had confirmed that there would be forty Finns, the staff had insisted that there must be rather a superfluity of staff in the kitchen but, as we were so near the end, I no longer minded.
Eileen and Deirdre, dolled up to the nines, had headed off to a session in a pub (they told me) at 7.30 ish and we all were anticipating the Finns with some trepidation.
Large block bookings are always harder to manage in a small restaurant like ours.
I heard the sound of voices out in the street by the kitchen and so I snuck out the back door to have a sneak preview of the Finns.

Along the street in a laughing excited procession were coming not the Finns but a choice selection of 40 of my brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces and friends.

I was lost for words, as they all hollered “Surprise!” at me.
I jabbed at the door intercom and said to Sile
“I think you had better come down”
She was equally shocked.
Part of the procession were Eileen and Deirdre, co-conspirators of the event, then out of the kitchen came my (dis) loyal staff, also in the know.
(As also was the college lecturer who had made the “Finnish” booking)

It was magical.
I cannot imagine a more successful party than we had in the restaurant that night.
Not only had these lying friends brought themselves (form all over Ireland) but also a wonderful cake in “Dwyers” image and a book of remembrances of the restaurant full of their words, images, poems and even crosswords relating to their times spent in the place.
(This still sits on our shelf virtually unopened, it still is too full of emotion for me to read it without disgracing myself.)

And (in case you are wondering) the answer is Yes.
Every last one of them paid for their meal.

A suitable Grande Finale for a great 15 years.

Here are a few photos of the event;