The Margin thought there was definitely something strangely out of place, yet familiar about the beefy lads in the dark glasses and short-sleeved shirts in Florence last week.

The sturdy fellows, who were checking that participants had their admission badges for a computer conference, were a bit too under-dressed, a bit too cheerful and certainly a bit too sunburned to be Italians.

Then came the warning, "Are yiz all right there?" to a person who had dared walk past without a badge, resolving the mystery. The security force that software company SAS hired for its European users conference were. . . all Dubs.

Dressed in polo shirts, with subtle little Italian and Irish flags on their chests, the lads were clearly enjoying their Florentine chore of standing around looking slightly threatening while basking in the sunshine.

According to an SAS official, the company liked them so much after using them for their Dublin conference last year that they flew them all out to work in Italy.

Better than Leeson Street in the rain, any time.