Fears of its demise have been greatly exaggerated. The Belfast Agreement was seen as the death knell for the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body, the gathering of 50 backbenchers from Westminster and Leinster House which meets twice-yearly to discuss matters of mutual interest. It was expected that with all the new North/South and east/west groups the BIIPB would be redundant.
Not so. The Body, as it is called, met last September in York and gathers tomorrow in Dromoland. The autumn meeting in Cambridge is already arranged. It is as strong as ever and its members as enthusiastic as always. The Minister for Justice, John O'Donoghue, who gives the address on Monday, will face questions from British MPs on decommissioning and the question of Irish membership of the Western European Union; and from the Irish on the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the disappeared, Drumcree, industrial development, milk quotas and inland waterways.
The Body's survival, to date, has continued because neither the Ministerial Council nor the British Irish Council (aka the Council of the Isles) - drawing members from the new Scottish parliament and the assemblies in Northern Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Isles - could fill the role. The problem with the Council of the Isles is that the English are excluded and already they speak in fear of the strength of the Celtic fringe. Indeed, the former Welsh Secretary, Ron Davies was in Dublin this week observing how we do things, in anticipation of a major role in the Welsh assembly (despite his fall from grace on Clapham Common).
The Body's great failing however, is that it lacks Ulster Unionists. They wouldn't come originally because it was set up under the Anglo-Irish Agreement. Although signatories to the Belfast Agreement, which encourages the Body, there is still no sign of them. There may be progress on all sorts of diverse matters - from power sharing to cross-Border co-operation - but their two reserved BIIPB seats remain vacant.
It is something the Irish vice chairman, FG's Charlie Flanagan, bemoans. Indeed, he says the success of the Body generally has been understated. "It has excelled in breaking down barriers and building confidence. David Trimble should send a delegation."