It was a time for celebration. The President, Mrs Robinson, standing on the terrace facing a landscape that men had taken over and made more beautiful, declared Powerscourt House in Enniskerry open. There was a buzz of pleasure, a real feeling that the terrible loss of a house like this, its long, lonely 23-year span since the fire in 1974, had in some way been rectified.
This is now a house secured, though not an 18th century house restored, for that would cost £60 million. So far £5 million has been spent, so it is no longer roofless and windowless.
As the President said, the house is now a house; it is vibrant, it will give sustainable employment to 50 people, and it gave her a sense of joy and pride.
And it is welcoming, with 10 shops and several restaurants, run by the Pratt family of Avoca Handweavers.
A permanent exhibition, detailing the history of the demesne since Norman times, tells of its various owners: the Le Poers, O`Tooles, Fitzgeralds, Wingfields and Slazengers.
Prof Kevin Nowlan, president of the Heritage Trust, which has been involved with the redevelopment from the beginning, observed that out of the ruins there is the basis for further development.
And, of course, there is the ballroom, the heart of the house, once very magnificent.
It is not quite what it was when Princess Grace waltzed there, but seems waiting for something to happen.
Dr Michael Slazenger, Powerscourt's owner, seems to have something in mind, or was it just a reference to the President's famous "Come dance with me" speech?
"It is time there was music and dancing here again . . ."
Dr Slazenger recalled the night the house burned down, November 4th, 1974. Unlike Scarlett O'Hara, he said, he had had no plans to rebuild in the immediate aftermath, feeling it had gone for ever.
On the other hand, there was always the dream. Funding eventually came from the sale of sites in the new Eagle Valley development on the estate, and the European Regional Development Fund administered by Bord Failte.
Open all year round, admission is £4 for adults, £3.50 for students and pensioners, and £3 for children.