Sinn Féin’s ardfheis was replete with the sounds and symbols of a familiar genre: loud denunciations of government policies, promises of solutions to all the country’s ills and a rich store of soundbites to excite the membership and make the news.
Above all, the message Sinn Féin sought to convey at its gathering in Dublin this weekend was a straightforward one: this is a party preparing for government.
Opinion polls showing it pulling away from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have convinced its leaders that power is within its grasp in the Republic. Gerry Adams's departure as leader and his replacement by Mary Lou McDonald has made it easier for the party to be heard among a broad swathe of the southern electorate, while its effective focus on the housing crisis in particular has enabled it to tap into a deep public discontent, not least among younger voters.
While few doubt that the old guard retain huge influence in the party, its public face in the Republic is now predominantly that of a generation who came of age as politicians in the post-Belfast Agreement era.
But there is a long way to go between now and the next election, which could be more than three years away. The closer Sinn Féin comes to power the more hard questions it will be subjected to. The depth of talent it has beyond its most prominent Dáil spokespeople is still unclear.
Its decision finally to break with its opposition to the Special Criminal Court at the weekend is a reminder of how eager the party leadership is to enter the mainstream, but it is also a reminder that Sinn Féin is not like any other party. There are perfectly good reasons to oppose the non-jury court, but Sinn Féin's position was impossible to separate from the fact that this court was the vehicle through which the party's IRA allies were jailed through the 1970s and 80s.
In Northern Ireland, the party's prospects are a little muddier on account of political instability there. Sinn Féin may well top the polls at the next Assembly elections, but amidst DUP threats to pull out of the power-sharing institutions unless its demands on the protocol are met, the prospects for Stormont, let alone Michelle O'Neill's chances of becoming First Minister, are uncertain.
The betting is that O'Neill and DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson will duck an election before next year. Unionism's year of internal strife means the DUP needs calm to re-organise itself.
Regardless of the timetable, it is clear that scrutiny of Sinn Féin’s exercise of power in the North does not necessarily benefit its leaders in the Republic. Party spokespeople have floundered while trying to explain its failure to ensure women have access to abortion services in Northern Ireland.
More generally, the party in power in Belfast has found that many of the policy dilemmas it faces are a lot harder to resolve than the same party’s slogans in Dublin would suggest.