Mood of the delegates: The Greens pride themselves on taking a long-term view, both of the country's future and their own prospects, writes Marie O'Halloran.
"Cometh the hour, cometh the man and now cometh the party. There is a sense that our time has come," according to Caoimhghín Ó Maolallaigh, a Green Party delegate from Galway West.
"The issues we were talking about 25 years ago have now come home to roost," he says. As the Green Party marked its 25th anniversary at its largest national conference in Kilkenny at the weekend, some of the 400 attending expressed a "buoyancy and hopefulness" for the general election, and an expectation that they will negotiate to go into government.
"People are beginning to come around to our point of view and they see we are not crusties and hippies," Mr Ó Maolallaigh says. The architectural technician believes the Greens are ready to negotiate for government.
He is concerned, however, that while people are beginning to take on green issues, they "still don't really get what we're about. They are not looking at the long term." In a way, they needed a mini-crisis, like an oil shortage, "something that really affects their daily lives", to make people understand.
He believes there is a potential for 11 or 12 seats for the Greens "but people are fickle".
For Kieran Cunnane "seven is the magic number", because seven seats will given the party greater influence in the Dáil, including more speaking time. The Galway West electronics engineer says that "the Greens have to get into government to make a difference on a big scale".
The Government parties are having a go at the Greens but the "muesli and sandals" jibes are nothing more than a political tactic - "the modern equivalent of the 'reds under the beds' scare". He added: "they are always going to look for a stick to beat us with but in reality have very little to say against us."
Rafaela Herberich (Laois/Offaly) believes the Greens' real competitors for votes are Sinn Féin, "because of the younger generation", who are looking for new ideas and not the parties of their parents. A human resources manager, originally from Germany, she says, however, that the Greens "are the only party looking at the longer term".
Her husband, Dirk Herberich, noted the party's vote against accepting corporate funding. "It would be better if we had more funding. As our biggest competitor for votes, Sinn Féin are much better prepared in funding terms. It might take us longer to connect with the electorate but we have the long-term policies."
Rita O'Sullivan (Dublin North) is confident that the party can win 10 seats in the general election. "The way things are globally, the time is right for the Greens." To get into government they will have to bargain and compromise.
"We are not in it for the power but to do the right thing", and as a "no pact" party, they would have a special conference after the election.
Dottie Knauer (Galway West) formally joined the party at its conference over the weekend. Originally from Germany and a teacher, she has lived in Ireland for 21 years, and believes the Greens "have clear values and principles. They seem to be honest about it and not corrupt, compared to some other parties." She sees the next election as a "chance to get into government, to make a difference on a big scale".
Party founder Christopher Fettes is "pleased" with what has been achieved. "It's certainly more efficient as a party.
"Our first conferences were quite different, lots of personalities, but the personalities now seem to be more under control."
A woodlands manager in Offaly, he believes that "there are honest people in every party, but they are short-sighted and insofar as we can, we have to help them to become long-sighted in their policies".
Seán O'Flynn, a founding member from Mahon, Cork said it was great to see a new generation taking over the party but he said that the most the party would ever achieve was "probably 15 per cent of the vote on a good day", but "I would be happy with 15 per cent".
It was, he added, "very satisfying" to see how well the Greens had done, especially when in the past "we used to be ridiculed off the stage".