With murder, death on our roads and mayhem in our hospitals preoccupying much of our brain space on a weekly basis, it's hard to see anything good about our city, especially at this time of year when we are being told that we are facing into tough economic times in the run-up to an expected tight budget. And then there are events that make you sit up and remember.

At the g hotel on the Dublin Road last Friday night, Galway people had every reason to remember the good when Ahascragh milliner Philip Treacy returned for a special fashion show, his first in Ireland, to celebrate the g hotel's second birthday.

Philip Treacy's works are amazing creations and a reminder of the talent that exists on our doorstep. Of course, there are those that disagree. Ger Colleran, Star Editor, speaking on the Sunday Supplement on Today FM on Sunday morning, said that he does not understand or appreciate hats. [He said he appreciated their 'utilitarian' function ? shielding us from downpours etc.] However, anyone attending this event on Friday understood that they were in the presence of something fabulous. It was impossible not to be over-awed at the sheer genius of his creations.

Anyone who has seen a Philip Treacy creation, certainly if you've seen a sea of them paraded past you on Amazonian females in the glorious surroundings of the g, will understand that Philip's hats perform no such degrading utilitarian function such as protecting us from the elements. They are works of art and feats of architectural genius.

It's interesting that as Mr Treacy was being celebrated in the g hotel on Friday night, students at the Chluain Mhuire campus of the GMIT were getting set to get together to discuss conditions at their campus. Mr Treacy is a former student of the institute. The students claim that conditions at the campus work against them, with basics, such as ink and paper, lacking and students forced to shell out for essentials.

The ins and outs of the students' complaints have now been laid bare and a date has been set for them to be rectified, so hopefully that's the end of it. As Mr Treacy demonstrates, talent needs to be nurtured and student artists facilitated so that they can reach their full potential.

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