Bray Rowing Club Fashion Show at Martello. Emer O’Neill with designer Claire Garvey
Bray Rowing Club Fashion Show at Martello. Rebecca Redmond, Lorna Sweeney, Irena Cooke and Carmen Barrera
Bray Rowing Club Fashion Show at Martello. Barry Robinson, Andy O’Reilly and Tony Dutton
Bray Rowing Club Fashion Show at Martello. Aisling Walsh modelling
Bray Rowing Club Fashion Show at Martello. Louis McAleer giving it his best 007 look
Bray Rowing Club Fashion Show at Martello. Aisling Walsh, Mia Holland and Chloe Pritchard modelling Maire Forkin creations
Bray Rowing Club Fashion Show at Martello. The first Rose of Tralee, Alice O’Sullivan with Wicklow Rose, Kerry Byrne
Bray Rowing Club Fashion Show at Martello. A fan takes a photo of model Andy O’Reilly
Bray Rowing Club Fashion Show at Martello. Event host Emer O’Neill
Bray Rowing Club Fashion Show at Martello. Cllr Aoife Flynn Kennedy, Roisin Flynn, Kate Donohoe, Marie and Hollie Blake
Bray Rowing Club Fashion Show at Martello. Sisters Myra Kearney and Gráinne Vickers who was celebrating her birthday
Bray Rowing Club Fashion Show at Martello. Stephen O’Toole and Caroline Davis
Bray Rowing Club Fashion Show at Martello. Robert O’Grady, Laura Freeman, Eimear and Evelyn Donegan, Olive Freeman, Phil O’Grady, Alice O’Sullivan
Bray Rowing Club has a bit of distance to go to reach its fundraising target for the badly needed new clubhouse, but the hugely successful fashion show, which took place at the Martello, on Thursday, September 19, gave the members plenty of focus with a total €5,000 raised on the night. And with donations still coming in from the event, club captain Andy O’Reilly said spirits remain high that the dream home is on the horizon.
Hosted by Emer O’Neill and featuring work by designers Claire Garvey, Silvia Ortega, Karina Mizrahi, Andy remarked how the members of club surprised all who attended with their natural flair for modelling. The “incredible amount of work” was down to Jacinta Pritchard and her son Jason, who organised the show, Andy acknowledged.
The club also extended its thanks to the Martello for providing the venue, the designers and boutiques that provided “some of the loveliest outfits you are likely to see anywhere”, as well as all the make-up artists and hairdressers who toiled away on the night.
While the fundraiser has been a huge help for the club, members are still pinning their hopes on finding a sponsor for the new clubhouse after it was forced to vacate the premises on health and safety grounds last year.
Wicklow County Council has approved plans for a total revamp of the building, on Bray esplanade, but the club, which only survives on small grants and fundraising drives, is in dire need of a big-name backer to see those plans realised.
Andy said that while the members are “thrilled” with the planning decision, the costs associated with the project won’t be known until tenders are in. Plans for the clubhouse – a single-storey building, located between the public toilets and the Boathouse coffee shop at the southern end of the promenade – were submitted last October, after the building, mainly used for the storage of the rowing club’s boats, had been declared unsafe due to the condition of the roof.
The proposals were to replace the condemned building with a two-storey structure and in order to provide additional space it is hoped to align the new structure with the adjoining toilet block. The building, as it stood, only provided storage facilities for the boats with a single shower and toilet, and the plans provided for a gym area, with toilet and shower facilities at first floor level.
Andy said the council is fully supportive of the need for a new building, as it will also enhance the seafront area and the plan is to carry out the demolition works once funding is secured. At the fashion show, host Emer gave “a good shout out” for any companies that are willing to get on board. “We got over the biggest hurdle. We have planning permission for a building there now,” Andy said. “It’s a massive achievement to get planning there. Hopefully it will be happening in my lifetime, but it’s there for the future of Bray.”
