Hats off to top shopping tactics as fashion steals the show on Galway Races Ladies’ Day

Each from Galway, they experienced combed the rails of the city’s boutiques forward of the massive occasion but could not occur up with everything, so on the spur of the minute they decided to push to Cork.

In the Olori boutique, Sandra – a front office environment manager at Glenlo Abbey Lodge – observed a Roisin Linnane two-piece in significant gold satin, a smock-design best with a bow and extensive-legged trousers that she teamed properly with the footwear from her wedding very last August. 

“They’re so snug I didn’t even know I had them on,” she claimed. She topped off her outfit with a chic tilted black hat by Laura Hanlon.  

Maria, from Claregalway, found a lively yellow gown with wide sleeves in the same boutique, which she teamed with a pink swirl of a hat by Edel Ranberg. “We ended up out of there in 15 minutes,” she mentioned.

In the stop, it was Sandra who walked off with the €10,000 income prize.

“First time successful, initial time at any time even building it into the tent, initially time everything,” she claimed as she planned to toast her win with a gin and tonic.

Sandra had tried not to get her hopes up for the reason that the competition was so rigid this calendar year.

“I’m almost hiding in the background, likely ‘Hopefully’,” she said.

The women’s spouse and children, the Elwoods, from the Headford Street in Galway, have been heading to the races because they were “very, extremely small”, Sandra reported.

However, her partner, John, was not there to see her big win as he got “caught working” at the relatives company, the Galway jewellers, Fallers.

“He’s heading to be pretty offended that he didn’t make it in now,” reported Sandra.

“He was indicating that every Ladies’ Day all he does is chase me close to, so he reported, ‘I’ll sit this one out’. He’ll be really sorry he sat this one particular out.”

Sandra’s ideas for her win provided “a nicely-deserved break”.

“We’re so searching ahead to it,” she stated. “We ended up wanting up France in September, but I’m not genuinely into the solar, so we’ll see how it goes.”

In the meantime, Catherine O’Connor, from just exterior Newry, Co Armagh, won the €3,000 prize for Very best Hat.

Hers was an exquisite ivory tool-pleated development by Marc Millinery of Cork.

It experienced been matched thoroughly to a photograph of her costume, also ivory and pleated, from Couture Grandeur.

“We came on Monday for a spouse and children getaway – we have been camper-vanning it and one of the ladies set me up last night so I could get ready,” Catherine explained.

Fast paced Ballybrit attracted loads of acquainted faces yesterday.

They included presenter Doireann Garrihy and Overlook Ireland Pamela Uba, who was carrying a lively gown in African print, as perfectly as Galway footballers Johnny Heaney, captain Sean Kelly and Shane Walsh. 

Former rugby stars Sean O’Brien and Rob Kearney were also seen enjoying the sunshine and the racing.

Meanwhile, milliner Laura Hanlon was turning heads in a hat built from glass.

“It weighs about the exact same as a baby,” she explained, although moving very cautiously.