IT started, fittingly if a tad embarrassingly, with Potato Rap, a specially commissioned piece from performance artist Maighread Meabh. Smoothly executed and well intentioned, it still brought a fear to the throat, a fear that we were in for an evening of gruesomely cheesy nostalgia and cod poignancy. Thankfully, that's not how things worked out, and debutante MC Gabriel Byrne and Jean Butler deserved credit for skilfully weaving the whole package together with verve and humour.
A couple of numbers from Eleanor McEvoy were powerfully rendered but maybe a little bombastic for the indoor setting at the Green Glens. Similarly, Brian Kennedy's reconstructed smoothie soul went down a treat with the young (and not so young) female contingent, but didn't quite gel with the event's commemorative theme.
It was left to The Chieftains to get the party pumping, and no better men for the job. Joined by The Corrs for a folksy jam, they let rip with soaring jigs and rabid reels before easing down into a more evocative, thoughtful mode with a couple of exceptional mood pieces.
The President, Mrs Robinson, a vision in emerald green, delivered a beautifully understated speech and certainly blew Bill Clinton off the stage. The Boy from Hope had offered a video message of doubtless sincerity but little resonance.
For a finale, The Chieftains and The Corrs were joined by Macnas puppets and the rest of the performers for a Live Aid style, arm in arm love in. The nearcapacity 5,000 or so present in the audience lapped it up and went home with their appetite for commemoration duly sated.