A lesson in modern manners: ‘People think etiquette is all knives and forks, but it’s so much more’

Etiquette is not about rules and formalities, but about treating people how you would want your grandparents to be treated, expert Patricia Maybury explains to Emer Harrington over a spot of brunch

Patricia Maybury guides Emer Harrington through the etiquette of taking tea during a relaxed and refined moment in her Cork home. Picture: Chani Anderson

In this age of texting at the dinner table and ghosting after first dates, are good manners becoming extinct? I wasn’t sure, so I went for a crash course in modern manners with etiquette expert, Patricia Maybury.

For my generation, the rules of formal dining and polite society were not a priority. Although I’d be the first to remind my child about manners, I could probably brush up on my own.