The visiting Syriza minister didn’t have to do much to get the Sinn Féin crowd on his side. Euclid Tsakalotos got a standing ovation before he even opened his mouth at the ardfheis.
The Oxford-educated Greek’s tongue-in-cheek apology for his cut-glass English accent endeared him even further to the delegates in Derry. And being married to a Celt was a “mitigating” factor, he added.
Tsakalotos went on to tell cheering Sinn Féin supporters: “The bailout was more to service northern banks than southern people”.
But northern people and southern banks were more to the fore at this ardfheis.
Gerry Adams uttered a hearty "fáilte romhat" to both Tsakalotos and Friends of Sinn Féin USA in his annual presidential speech.
Speaking in tongues
Famous for peppering his public contributions with phrases as Gaeilge, Adams considered dabbling in a new language on Saturday night.
“Venceremos,” was the most exotic word in his script. But he declined to deliver it when the moment came.
Translating to “we will overcome”, it was regularly used by Che Guevara.
The Argentinean revolutionary’s portrait was one of a trio featured on creatively-decorated bodhráns for sale at the ardfheis.
Che Guevara was flanked by Belfast hunger-striker Bobby Sands and former South African president Nelson Mandela on the hand-painted drum.
The wisdom of “Madiba” was invoked by many at the event. A young man was indulged by chuckling delegates as he called for the legalisation of cannabis, quoting “our late comrade” as saying “it all seems impossible until it’s done”.
Martin McGuinness dangled the tantalising prospect of Sinn Féin becoming the biggest party in the Republic in time for Easter 2016 before pumped-up delegates. That was audacious, given current poll figures.
Another of the North’s Deputy First Minister’s goals was to become the largest party in Northern Ireland at about the same time.
That was contentious, given the prevailing unionist majority.
For the benefit of any (presumably horrified) unionists who happened to be watching in on television, McGuinness spelled it out by saying the symbolism of such an achievement “will be absolutely massive”.
Like the Dickensian spirit come to show Scrooge “shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before us”, McGuinness painted a picture of a future some would regard as frightful.
Speaker after speaker stressed “the difference between us and them”, when referring to Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil. The parties were branded “Green Tory parties in Dublin” by one delegate.
‘Change of rosettes’
Another claimed a “change of rosettes at Westminster” would make little difference to the policy direction of the London-based administration after the May elections.
Carrickmacross MEP Matt Carthy’s well-received dismissal of rival parties and political commentators was typical of the ideologically driven contributions to the conference.
“Irish politics has been so long devoid of vision that they can’t understand us and they can’t understand why people are embracing our vision in ever-increasing numbers,” he said.
“It’s now clear to almost everybody following the next Leinster House elections that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will be together. The only question remaining is whether they’ll be together in government or in opposition.”
Raucous laughter greeted the mildest of jokes from senior party figures, although Tyrone MP Michelle Gildernew prompted genuine belly laughs.
Filling time before Adams’s televised address, she said: “We’re waiting for the Boss. Wouldn’t it be great if we were talking about Bruce Springsteen?”
But no, it was Adams telling the faithful the party’s wealth tax proposal hadn’t gone away and that “corrupt” bankers and politicians were the ones who should be in jail, rather than anti-water charge protesters.
The foot-stomping enthusiasm for the populist Republican rhetoric was reminiscent of a Fianna Fáil ardfheis some 30 years ago.
Minus the splits, of course.
