It looks better on some

Coral Wilson

While dancing his best jig in an intense, last, tie-breaking effort,

Mark Patrick Hennessy threw up his red tartan kilt to reveal a pair

of green St. Patrick’s Day underwear.

The panel of five women blushed and burst into laughter. But in

that instant, they made their decision.

Hennessy was deemed the winner of the sexiest kilt competition,

which was held Sunday at Muldoon’s Dublin Pub and Celtic Bar Sunday.

“No song in Ireland could have changed that result,” first

runner-up Nicholas Jordan said.

Jordan had told jokes, sang an Irish song and even kicked up his

legs to beat his good friend, but as for the color of his underwear?

“Virgin white,” he admitted.

People gathered in the entranceway, filled tables and looked on

from the balcony to get a peak at the 16 sexy men in skirts.

Nine and a half hours before St. Patrick’s Day, the event kicked

off the first of what organizers hope will become an annual event.

Accepting the gold trophy that will be named after him in future

years, Hennessy took one look at the statue’s red cloth kilt and then

held it against his own. It almost matched.

Hennessy was even born on St. Patrick’s Day.

The five panelists were Irish expatriates Olivia Tracey and Aileen

McKeagney, Irish Americans Shannon Gibson and Kelly Fitzgerald and

“Irish at heart” Marissa Schwartz, who “grew up in Muldoon’s.”

Schwartz’s parents started the Irish pub almost 30 years ago.

“What does sexy mean? It is not just a physical aspect or

component, it is more like who owns that kilt,” event coordinator

Richard Kaplan said.

Minutes before the competition, the panelists discussed their

criteria: good legs, charisma, a sense of humor, charm, swagger and a

mix of traditional and personal style. McKeagney suggested they have

participants show some legs, do a quick jig or imitate a Scottish

accent.

“I am looking forward to some of that classic Irish and Scottish

wit to show up today,” Schwartz said. “It is always a good time when

in the company of people of Celtic ethnicity.”

Chris Pierce, drummer and singer for the Celtic rock band the

Fenians, came out to co-host the event. Known for wearing his clan’s

tartan during performances, Pierce premiered a new, green “Elvis

kilt,” with sequins, for the special day.

Pierce, who is booked for performances in Los Angeles, San Diego

and Anaheim on Monday, called St. Patrick’s Day the band’s “high holy

day.”

“With all the recent rain, it was almost going to be the sexiest

wet kilt competition, but that didn’t seem quite right,” Kaplan said

while introducing the event and then the contestants, who were

dressed in plaid, camouflage and leather.

Clayton Sunderland came in a plaid skirt, with only tattoos to

cover his arms and chest. Nathan Armstrong wooed panelists with his

2-year old son, Liam Armstrong, dressed in a kilt and diapers. Robert

Huntley played his bagpipes. Dennis O’Dell charmed the women with a

kiss on the hand. Others told jokes and stories in a heavy Scottish

or Irish accent to win laughs, if not votes.

“I never heard so many beat-up Scottish accents before as I did in

the back room,” Scotsman Donald McClymont said.

Jordan, Hennessy and Mario Aroz came out as a trio, dressed in

formal dress kilts. They danced arm-in-arm and kicked up their legs

while the audience cheered them on.

The panelists retreated to the back room to make their final

decision.

“This is very tough,” Schwarz mumbled as she consulted her notes.

The five women huddled together and discussed each contestant.

“He had the tradition thing going on,” Fitzgerald said about one

of the men.

“He was very confident in his skirt,” Tracey said of another. “He

was unique, not over the top or trying to get attention.”

“Even though he didn’t hit the note, he was great,” Gibson said of

a contestant who sang “Danny Boy.”

“I didn’t like his joke,” Tracey said of one man.

“It was kind of crude,” the other women agreed.

“Sexy should embody charm and tradition,” Schwartz said.

“I gave your husband a 10,” Gibsn told McKeagney. “He danced, he

told a joke, he was funny and natural.”

Contestant Jordan was McKeagney’s husband. But she had promised to

keep her vote for sexiest man objective.

“Even for a liberated woman, this is a pretty hard decision,” she

said. “They were all pretty darn good.”

During a last tie-breaking competition between Jordan and

Hennessy, the pressure mounted for McKeagney, who dropped her

shoulders in indecision and initially had to withhold her opinion.

The final decision, originally meant to be “winner takes all,” was

too difficult to make in the end. After a singing and dancing

showdown between Jordan and Hennessy, Hennessy was awarded the trophy

and a $150 gift certificate for clothing store Tommy Bahamas. Jordan,

the first runner-up, received a dinner or two at Muldoon’s.

Paul Buchanan, who came in his wedding attire, won two T-shirts

for tradition.

“He said he was wearing his kilt the fully traditional way, as

well, but I didn’t ask for evidence,” McKeagney said.

Two-year old Liam Armstrong won a bag of gifts for most adorable.

“I am just lucky that my good friend Nicholas Jordan went on for

10 sloppy verses,” Hennessy joked. “My one regret is that I have to

come back next year.”

“I reckon if you can sing and dance, you are always a winner,”

Jordan said. “You can go anywhere.”

* CORAL WILSON is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at [email protected].