The Rev Ian Paisley did not look like a man of 72 as he addressed his annual party conference. He exuded energy as he waved his fist in the air and denounced his opponents in a performance of which politicians half his age would have been proud.
The speech lasted nearly 80 minutes but he never lost the attention of delegates. There is no other party leader on the island who can captivate an audience like Dr Paisley.
The media and his enemies have long written the political obituary of the DUP and its leader. Saturday's conference was proof of their folly. The party had expected an attendance of only 300, but an extra 100 turned up and the hall was jam-packed.
DUP conferences are always lively but the standing ovations for almost every speaker were proof of a particularly confident mood. While the UUP is in turmoil, with half its parliamentary party opposed to the Belfast Agreement and branches across the North split, the DUP flaunted its unity.
The DUP sees itself surrounded on all sides by treachery and betrayal, with it alone challenging the traitors and defending the Union. Until the signing of the Belfast Agreement, the unionist community had grown used to these conspiracy theories and taken them with a pinch of salt.
The fears articulated at the DUP conference will touch a chord with thousands of grassroots unionists: convicted IRA killers walking the streets without the handover of a single bullet; the RUC about to undergo radical change if not disbandment; and the possibility of Sinn Fein in government in the new year.
Whether the two governments like it or not, the DUP's cynicism towards Nobel Peace Prizes and British prime ministers addressing the Dail is shared by a substantial section of unionists.
The conference heard repeated claims that many who voted Yes in the referendum regretted it as they watched an "endless stream of concessions" to republicans. Unionists had gained nothing, said the DUP deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, who used Mr Ahern's recent comments on Irish unity as evidence that worse was still to come.
The DUP wants to turn next June's European Parliament elections into a referendum on the working of the Belfast Agreement. It's a no-lose situation. Dr Paisley's huge personal following has ensured that he tops the Euro poll regardless of the wider political circumstances. And even if he is pipped next year by the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume - as some observers believe may happen - he will surely easily out-poll the UUP candidate, Mr Jim Nicholson, and thus argue that a clear anti-agreement unionist majority exists. And this just weeks before Drumcree.
But the DUP knows that while public support can provide its anti-agreement campaign with momentum, the deal can be brought down only from within. As majority support in both unionist and nationalist groups is needed for Assembly decisions, the support of dissident or wavering UUP members is needed at Stormont.
There was a massive effort at the DUP conference to place the blame for the current political situation on Mr David Trimble. Although the former UUP leader, Lord Molyneaux, was regularly attacked by the DUP, he was never spoken of in such personally venomous tones.
Mr Gerry Adams would have received a warmer welcome had he arrived at the conference than Mr Trimble, the "arch-traitor". The DUP clearly hopes the UUP leader will become increasingly isolated and alienated from his own community. Mr Robinson openly called for UUP grassroots to "topple" him.
The DUP unashamedly refuses to entertain compromise and clings to the old certainties of the past. Dublin is still "a low and detestable aggressor" and "the only cabinet the Provos should be in is made of wood and has handles," said Mr Robinson.
Many observers believe the party's failure to embrace change and compromise might bring short-term advantage but will eventually be its downfall. The DUP believes that is wishful thinking.
Mr Robinson said: "We have been vilified, demonised and dismissed time and time again - but we are still here, still in the midst of the fray, still contending and still unwavering."