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e swung by this year’s Dahlia Show early this afternoon, before the doors at St Patrick’s National School had even swung open.
Mainly because this was one very busy Saturday in Greystones, and our timetable was all over the place.
Literally.
Between the Taste Of Greystones Regatta, the final Burnaby Park chess session, the Hollywood Parish Fair over in Newcastle, the latest outdoor exhibition at The Boat Yard Gallery, author Peter Donnelly paying a visit to Halfway Up The Stairs, Kindlestown Park having its Family Fun Day and one mighty hangover, it was always unlikely we were going to make every single hooley today.
But on our way from one shindig to another, we took time out to catch Catherine Coveney and the Delgany & District Horticultural Society gang setting up their annual Dahlia Show, with not only the most beautiful flowers and plants for miles around but the cream of all the vegetable crops too.
And did you see the size of awards-magnet Terence Steveson’s cabbage? It would be enough to make Miley faint.
With over 200 entries this year, David Warnock’s fruit proved an award winner, as did Ruth Handy’s runner beans and apples; Sarah Parle won with her pansies and the mighty Trevor Stevenson won many of the dahlia classes, edged out from winning them all by Christy White from Naul.
There was plenty of competition in 20 separate vegetable classes, Carole O’Riordan winning for her display board, the bould Trevor for his stunning gladioli and Noel Cavanagh for really knowing his onions.
Looking over it all, no doubt, was the late, great John Markham, who not only has a trophy named after him – that’s what you get for 30 years of service to the DDHS and being the president of the RHSI – but Alick Branagan went so far as to name a newly-created breed of pompon after JM. And that’s been followed by UK breeder Roger Parsons naming a new sweet pea after John.
Talk about having your memory kinda linger…