Against a background of piercing bagpipe music, a green tide of Sinn Fein supporters holding aloft tricolours toasted the party's performance in Dublin's local elections at the weekend in the RDS.
The largest count centre in Dublin, quiet for most of the day, burst into life every time Sinn Fein candidates were declared elected by the nonplussed officials. As incredulous politicians from other parties looked on, a large group of Sinn Fein supporters threatened to lift the roof of the hall, such was the volume of their celebrations.
While a 32-county socialist republic was not being promised, the party was ecstatic as several candidates involved in community politics in recent years romped home ahead of household names from Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour.
When Mr Martin McGuinness arrived among the throng he was received with the kind of adulation normally reserved for the stars who take the stage at the same venue. He embraced candidates like Mr Dessie Ellis (Finglas), Mr Larry O'Toole (Artane) and Mr Nicky Kehoe (Cabra-Glasnevin) who had all won seats for the party in the Dublin Corporation local authority area.
A large group of burly young men, many bearing "Disband the RUC" slogans on their jackets, hoisted the winning candidates on their shoulders, while others beamed for photographers alongside their curly-haired mentor from Derry. After several minutes of jigs and backslapping, Mr McGuinness undertook a victory lap, accepting congratulations from other parties whose election declarations had been greeted with a few muffled claps.
After further exuberant rejoicing the Sinn Fein group, led out by the enthusiastic piper, spilled across the road to the local pubs to celebrate their performance. As one political opponent said, observing the group, "Ballsbridge has never seen anything like this before".
Speaking to reporters, Mr McGuinness said the party's strong vote in Dublin was not only an endorsement of its stance on the peace process, but also a recognition that it had tackled issues facing working-class people in Dublin, such as drugs.
Mr Dessie Ellis, who spent time in Portlaoise prison for bombing offences, won a seat on the first count in the Finglas ward, getting 2,278 first preferences with a quota of 2,144. He was delighted to be ahead of the more established names like Labour's Ms Roisin Shorthall TD, who got 1,571 first preferences.
He told The Irish Times he was not surprised to have polled so strongly. "We put in the work on the ground, whereas a lot of the other candidates were just not there," he said. He claimed that a seat for the party in Dublin North West in the general election was now a strong possibility, with Fianna Fail's vote in the area likely to be targeted.
"We are taking votes from every party, but I believe that the floating part of Fianna Fail's vote is there if we can get it," he said.
He added that the party had brought a lot of young voters out to vote and this had helped its performance.