I dropped into Naoise's Mindfield in Merrion Square yesterday evening.

Talk about being proud

And this sensation had commenced the previous weekend with the two page spread in the culture section of the Sunday Times that explored this Mindfield event, Mindfield at Electric Picnic, Leviathan and Naoise's wider thoughts and ideas.

But until I got there I had no idea of the scale and quality of the event - and in what a setting!

The attendees were, plainly, to a man, women and child, people who think beyond our immediate situation and, more importantly, beyond themselves and their own selfish interests.

And this was further manifest in the number of people who made themselves available to the event, and therfore Naoise, without charge or reward - many of whom can command and demand sizeable fees for their time and opinions.
I can only assume that they would not do so unless they too value and admire his efforts to create and sustain new fora for thought and discussion.

And as I listened to Marian Finucane this morning I heard one of her panel say '......I was speaking at Mindfield yesterday.........'

Pride reinforced.