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POLITICIANS WOULD USUALLY spend Monday mornings planning their week or, with an election in the offing, doing some early morning canvassing.
But several of them swapped the campaign trail for the catwalk this morning on TV3′s Ireland AM as part of a preview of tomorrow night’s Oireachtas Fashion Show.
The potential for hilarious awkwardness was not lost on presenters Sinead Desmond and Alan Hughes who could hardly keep straight faces as they introduced the item:
The event will be held in the Shelbourne Hotel tomorrow and is all in aid of Motor Neurone Disease which sadly took the life of Fine Gael TD Nicky McFadden in 2014.
Stylist Marietta Doran was on hand to introduce the models and their outfits and it kicked off with the “fabulous” Timmy Dooley who wasn’t lacking in confidence:
I’ve done it a couple of times. It’s a really good cause, a little bit daunting. We’re not used to talking about ourselves and what we wear.
Consultant neurologist Professor Orla Hardiman was next out to talk about the night and how it raises awareness for MND.
It’s a very good cause and one person every three days gets diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease. It’s a horrible disease. We can’t cure it but we’re working really hard to find treatments.
Next up was an exceptionally confident Sinn Féin senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh whose turn was even better than Timmy’s:
Then Fine Gael senator Catherine Noone appeared in this show-stopping red dress which she admitted was “a little bit festive”. That’s one description for it:
Next was her party colleague Martin Heydon who admitted he does the modelling not for enjoyment but the good cause.
“I’m a little bit out of my comfort zone,” he said with a nervous laugh before there was a distinctly awkward twirl:
Finally, independent senator Averil Power emerged in this sequined number that had Desmond particularly excited:
Power welcomed the change of outfit:
These days I spend most of my time with waterproof boots and a raincoat walking around knocking doors so it’s nice to glam up a bit for one night for a good cause.
If you’d like to see more politicians being awkward, you can still buy tickets for the event.
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