Date posted: 25th October 2023
After an enforced absence of three years due to Covid, the Killiney Quiz Night finally rolled into town on Thursday evening last! The quiz sold out minutes after tickets went on sale, with the queue of eager participants stretching all the way to the foyer waiting to part with their entry fee at the door.
The unflappable David Cruise, the designated cashier, had the appearance of an on-course bookie, minutes before the ‘off,’ stuffing wads of notes into a well-guarded cash box!
The dining room looked for all the world like a Leaving Cert exam hall, complete with small tables and answer sheets, with ‘Ivan the Invigilator’ instructing us to hand up our preferred choice of bonus round before he got proceedings under way. Ivan (he of Elvis fame) advised us that there were eight rounds of questions, and God help the poor ‘student’ who reached for their mobile phone!
It was all going swimmingly well, until the geography round, when numerous tables hit the buffers, with some ladies lamenting ‘mitching’ Sister Mary’s class when she covered the towns of Leitrim! Tension had risen several notches, with members now scrutinising the TV screen casting angry looks to poor Donn O’Shaughnessy, our IT Guru in charge of the scoreboard, who somehow remained a picture of calm amidst the clamour for extra marks.
During the interval, members and guests were as ever all too generous in supporting the raffle, with sponsors once again donating an eclectic mix of wonderful prizes.
We were now at the business end of the quiz, and with that came a change of host, with the charming Elaine Malcolm taking over the microphone. Looks can be so deceiving! Beneath her soft tone, and warm smile, lay a sadistic streak, with questions now being taken exclusively from the ‘honours paper’! Perhaps, being the time of year, with witches about, it looked as if Elaine had cast a dizzy spell on the room, as lots of members were now jumpy and jittery when confronted with the ‘Ding Bats’ round.
Hell, hath no fury! Answer sheets were turned sideways and everyway, but all efforts to unlock these fiendishly cunning phrases got the better of almost everybody in the room, save for a table of lawyers who parachuted in when they heard about the first prize of a case of wine!
As the England Rugby team know only too well, it’s never over till the final whistle. With just a few tables sitting comfortably, being accustomed to gracing the winner’s enclosure, only to be undone by the last round on ‘golf’!
Smiles gave way to frowns, with those few lamenting their tardiness in not paying more attention to Killiney’s weekly digest. Was the course record 65, or 63? Confusion reigned, calm was restored when Brendan Seaver was able to give the answer that the old course record was indeed broken, which now stands at 63. We won’t even mention the Boyne Cup!
Close, but no cigar for many, while Margaret Worrall and her victorious winning team collected their magnificent cases of wine, kindly sponsored by Energia. Working tirelessly in the background to make the night successful were Helen Stephenson; Helen Gallagher; Captain Darina Heavy and Maureen Flannery.
The social committee wish to also acknowledge the generosity of all our sponsors; Sinead Buckley Quinn of Irish Design Gallery; Rodanthe Fine Jewels by Helen Gallagher; Stillorgan Dental Surgery Paddy & Siobhan May; Our two Professionals - Leo Hynes and Sergio Bartolini; Keith Bardon, and Mark Carwood our GM; Hartley’s and Benitos Restaurant; Chef Alan Clarke and Jon Byrne our wonderful Bar Manager.
Declan Sweeney
Social Committee