THEY were called the Trimblistas - the bright young things who wanted create a dynamic, vibrant party which would take unionism into the 21st century, every inch as slick and sophisticated as its nationalist opponents.
They weren't any less unionist than the old men who had been the backbone of the party for decades; they just wanted a more modern, progressive approach, free from crude sectarianism.
Pluralism and democracy, not Orangeism and tradition, were their watchwords. Last year they helped to start the chain of events which led to the overthrow of James Molyneaux's ancient regime and ushered in "Boy David".
A year after Mr Trimble's election, are his young followers happy with his performance, or is it a case of the revolution betrayed?
Ms Arlene Kelly (26), chairwoman of the Young Unionists, has nothing but praise for her party leader. Working as a solicitor in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, she appreciates more than most the delicate balancing act of moving forward politically while not losing touch with your base.
"David Trimble's got it just right," she says. "I support the agreement with the SDLP over the talks agenda and decommissioning. Things couldn't have moved any more quickly.
"Tension is running very high in Fermanagh due to the boycott of some Protestant businesses, and nationalist objections to church parades in the summer. The two communities haven't been so polarised since the hunger strike."
Unionists shouldn't "fall at the IRA's feet" if another ceasefire is declared, she says. The Provisionals will have to agree to a series of confidence-building measures before they can be trusted.
She is delighted the UUP has opened information offices in London and Washington to counter nationalist propaganda. The appointment of two prominent Catholics Mr John Gorman as Forum chairman and Ms Patricia Campbell as manager of the London office is further progress. However, she admits that Drumcree badly damaged the party's image among Catholics.
Tipped to be the UUP's first woman MP, Ms Kelly's star has risen rapidly. This year she was made an honorary party secretary and UUP agent for the Forum elections. The latter appointment raised many eyebrows: previous incumbents were dull, dry, male and over 50.
Mr Richard Holmes (24), editor of the party's magazine, Ulster Review, wants more radical reform. All the old MPs who stood for re-selection, many in their 60s and 70s, have been successful and he is concerned about "sending a line-up of pensioners to Westminster. He hopes next year's council elections will offer a chance for more young blood.
He wants the UUP's internal structures modernised and its official link with the Orange Order severed - items he fears have been put on the back-burner.
He admits to "some unease" when the UUP's talks deal with the SDLP was announced this week but "David Trimble has always come up trumps" and he has complete faith in his judgment".
However, Mr Holmes insists that some IRA weapons must be handed over before Sinn Fein is admitted into negotiations and he remains deeply suspicious of the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume. "His desperation for the Nobel Peace Prize is even greater than Major's desperation for power."
He is concerned that unionists' eagerness for an assembly could be their downfall. They might accept cross-Border bodies as a trade-off with nationalists. A few years later London might abolish the assembly, leaving nothing but cross-Border bodies.
He acknowledges that Sinn Fein's Mr Gerry Adams and Mr Martin McGuinness may be genuine about peace but believes the IRA grassroots will accept nothing less than a united Ireland.
"The men on the ground in south Armagh won't want to swap their balaclavas for Armanis or their Kalashnikovs for mobile phones.
Mr David McDowell (26) is more optimistic. An Oxbridge graduate, he teaches politics at a college in Sussex and is on the party's liberal wing.
He is enthusiastic about the UUP-SDLP deal, "a very courageous move when hardliners like the DUP and Bob McCartney are breathing down Trimble's neck".
He favours "pragmatic" decommissioning, with the paramilitaries handing in offensive weapons but initially retaining defensive ones. He believes the UUP must shed its "negativity" and create a vision of Northern Ireland everyone can share.
"We must break down the barriers and address each other," he says. Northern Ireland Catholics are the people we will have to learn to live with."