Before I tell you about the GI launch party, let me start with the invitation. This consists of a young man photographed from the waist down to just above the knee. In the shot, the model is wearing jeans with GI stitched across the ass. Inside this section of the invite you lift out a second piece of card. This shows the same guy wearing boxer shorts and details of when, where etc. for the party.

Just as the poster campaign had done, the invite got people chatting. People wanted to know who the guy on the invite was. Well, my dear readers, I can now reveal that the guy on the invite was the Italian guy at the launch who dramatically pulled down the sheet to uncover a magnified GI cover. I realise that this info isn’t much use to anyone who wasn’t actually at the launch and so, with those people in mind, let me tell you that our invite cover boy works at Luigi Malones in Temple Bar.

The launch party itself was a fab affair. A gang of us gathered in Pravda last Wednesday for a quick drink before heading over to The Morrison. Once outside in the queue, who should be having words with the doorman but Missing Link hostess, Annie Balls. It looked to me as if Ms Balls was being refused entry (that doorman was a braver soul than me) because as we neared the entrance, Annie and her entourage were heading away from the door. (I later saw Annie in the venue so she must have used her wicked charms on someone!)

The gang I was sitting with had somehow got themselves a great table right at the front. I asked how they’d managed it and found that one of them had taken the ‘Reserved’ sign and hidden it behind the sofa. A good piece of advice to people who attend launches and (free drink) parties is to be nice to the waiters and waitresses. We were soon on first name terms with half of them and they gladly emptied their cocktail-laden trays at our table.

So who was there? Brian Dowling failed to show — although he was on the cover with Brendan Courtenay (who incidentally was the host for the evening). Graham Norton didn’t show either, so my two guesses at which celebs would be there proved useless. 

Samantha Mumba was there and fair play to her as she stayed for nearly the whole of the bash. Some ‘celebs’ often show up at these types of things, smile for the cameras and then promptly leave (not naming any names) (okay, you’ve twisted my arm … Lorraine Keane). 

Gavin Lambe-Murphy was in attendance. He actually isn’t that bad looking and is very tall which is always a bonus in my eyes. I’ve heard he’s pretty much hated by everyone in Dublin but I don’t know if this is strictly true going by all the people who were trying to catch his eye at the launch. Not me though — I was too busy getting plastered on free cocktails! The usual faces from the scene were all there. By this, I mean those people you see at bingo in the ‘VIP’ area every Sunday. And why not, free booze is free booze. 

The magazine itself is impressive. It’s 140+ pages of gloss covering anything from Shirley Temple-Bar’s celeb pics to the Fairview Park murder (an excellent article by Ger Philpot). I heard someone saying that it is very Dublin-based and I’d say I have to agree. Maybe this will change a few issues into the run. I wish GI and everyone who works there every success.

On leaving, we were given Blue Eriu bags full of goodies and then it was off home to see me fella. 

This weekend I’m going to Candy on Sunday night, so I’ll tell you all about the launch of this new club next week.