Anorak man spawns Blahnik Woman

The Republic of Ireland's VIP culture arrived with a thud in the USA over the weekend -- specifically the thud of the Sunday New York Times on its readers' doorsteps. Contained within the paper's Sunday Styles section was a full page ad for Cecelia Ahern's novel, P.S. I Love You. And while the NYT's readers were sold on Ms. Ahern's novel via a blurb from fellow novelist Marian Keyes, us Irish readers are more inclined to think of her as...Bertie's other daughter, not the one married to the dude from Westlife.

If all of these references are producing a series of "Who?s" from our vast American readership, we can't blame them for not being sufficiently immersed in the goings-on of the Republic's quasi-royalty. So just to get everyone caught up, Bertie is our Taoiseach (i.e. Prime Minister), Westlife is a home-grown boyband one of whom married a daughter of Bertie's last year, and now Cecelia has arrived with what is being pitched as a major Irish entry in the chick-lit sweepstakes, a genre of literature which we are poorly qualified to evaluate. But since a visit to just about any bookstore will feature a wall of chick-lit books, we are frankly sceptical that there's really a new angle or style in this one lifting it above all the others, and this Guardian article summarises the negativity.

Which quickly leads to the unsurprising implication that being the Taoiseach's daughter has opened a few doors for Cecelia. Then again, if Cecelia is thus taking advantage, it's not like she's out of step with the USA experience -- governed by George, son of George, a Federal Communications Commission headed by Michael Powell, son of Colin, and all sorts of eye-catching surnames scattered throughout the government.

So let us just conclude in the manner of the above Guardian article, and indulge in some begrudgery -- it'a far from all this she was reared. Bertie has prided himself on the image of being just the regular man in the anorak on his way to a football match on Sunday, and being down in the local in Drumcondra for a few pints with the lads. From this to Cecelia's full page NYT ad, in various shades of pink, and doubtless placed in the section most likely to have Sex and the City fans as readers, and therefore judged to be the most likely market for the book. And no need for her to flee to Paris or Zurich to achieve this level of success. Truly a tribute to the success of the Irish Republic.