Mood of delegates: Sinn Féin believes it knows where the bodies of William Philip Allen, Michael Larkin and Michael O'Brien are buried.
The bodies of the dead, which will require DNA tests for proper identification, should be returned to their families in Cork, it believes.
Unlike the murder of Jean McConville and dozens of others murdered by the IRA, the three men are not, however, recent victims of the Troubles.
Instead, they are better known as the Manchester Martyrs, who were hanged in 1867 for their role in the escape of two leading Fenians.
Cork East delegate Frank O'Neill said the bodies had been moved twice in the years following the executions in Manchester jail, so nobody is exactly sure about their graves now.
The hanging of the three men - some of 30 involved in the rescue of Col Thomas Kelly and Capt Thomas Deasy - provoked bitter opposition in Ireland at the time, prompting the writing of the song God Save Ireland.
Sinn Féin members from Cork, said Mr O'Neill, had travelled to Manchester to locate the bodies, though DNA testing would be necessary.
"There are relatives still alive in east Cork who are looking to this party to give leadership," he told the conference.
However, the conference weekend was dominated not by martyrs of yesteryear, but by the killing of Robert McCartney in Magennis's pub in Belfast.
Most delegates were quick enough to express sympathy for the family and the vast majority were clearly entirely sincere.
Nevertheless, it is hard to convey the private fury that many of them clearly feel towards the dead man's sisters and partner.
They did not know Mr McCartney and they did not want him dead, but they are livid his case simply will not go away and that the family will not be silent.
"They are talking about going to the US, to visit George Bush. What is all that about?" one delegate told The Irish Times.
Another party supporter who made little effort to hide his venom towards the family, hissed "F*** them."
A visible minority refused to applaud the emergency motion on the death moved by Gerry Kelly on Friday night.
On Saturday afternoon, the party leadership took the precaution of giving advance warning that the McCartney family would be turning up for Gerry Adams's main address.
"They will be coming here, where I am sure that they will be warmly welcomed by delegates," Mitchel McLaughlin told the audience. The message was clear.
Gauging the mood of delegates at Sinn Féin ardfheiseanna is a difficult task since party members tend to obey close discipline and this year was no different. "We are under pressure. There is no doubt about that, but that is a direct result of actions by politicians in the South who feel threatened," said a Monaghan delegate.
Another, Sorcha Nic Cormaic, was roundly applauded when she declared: "Neither I nor anyone I know in Sinn Féin is a criminal. To be branded as such by the Minister for Justice is an insult."
The remark spoke volumes. Sinn Féin's carefully tended sense of grievance is stronger than ever, its confidence has been dented, but it is convinced no terminal damage has been suffered.
