Pat Doherty addressed his jubilant supporters in the manner of one who had been waiting for this moment for some time. "What a magnificent victory," he said, pausing just long enough to relish the moment. The latest Sinn Fein superstar was born.
Much foot stamping, wolf whistling and cheering erupted at the Omagh leisure centre but one image proved most potent. It was Doherty's daughter Kathleen Ann wiping away tears of joy at the front of the stage. Her hands had been cradling a neat bump. Her baby is due on Wednesday.
It was also impossible not to be drawn to the expression on the face of the SDLP's Brid Rodgers, so convincingly beaten in West Tyrone by Doherty despite her high profile as the Minister for Agriculture. She smiled at first, looking bright in a deep pink suit. The smile led to a stoic look of acceptance as she held her hands firmly behind her back.
She had been heckled on her way into the count centre where for much of the day the word among party workers was that the Doc had it. "Cheerio, cheerio," shouted the Sinn Fein supporters. "Do you need a handkerchief Brid?" one taunted. There was anger that she had been parachuted into the constituency by the SDLP, causing a split in the nationalist vote.
Sitting MP William Thompson was also jeered for his losing speech in which he thanked the RUC. But earlier he was philosophical, saying politics was not everything in his life. "I will have no withdrawal symptoms," he added, but as he stood on the stage, his head bowed, it was impossible to know what was going through his mind.
For those who like chips with their results, Omagh leisure centre was the place to be yesterday. A stage was set up beside the sandwiches in the canteen where bored candidates and party workers beat a regular path to the hot-food counter.
Some customers of Cafe Election were more satisfied than others. Martin McGuinness won a massive majority to regain his Mid Ulster seat and had looked relaxed since arriving at the centre around lunchtime.
The McGuinness and Doherty families took up two tables at the front of the stage. McGuinness's two daughters, Grainne (25) and Fionnuala (24), looked like the glamorous young women Louis Walsh would snap up tomorrow if they could sing. Their brothers, Fiachra (19) and Emmet (16), both had the pale blue eyes and colouring of their Dad. McGuinness's wife Bernie and his mother Peggy completed the family gathering.
Earlier, Mr McGuinness and Mr Doherty chatted across a wall of green string mesh that separated the gymnasium in the bowels of the building where the votes from both their constituencies were being counted. "It's like being in prison," Doherty commented as he faced McGuinness. "But which one of us is visiting?"
"I'm on the outside," said McGuinness. "We've been liberated for years."
The Sinn Fein camp had been visibly confident all morning. Brid Rodgers, however, stayed away until just before the official result was declared. According to the SDLP, the hardfought campaign in West Tyrone had been a case of "the magic versus the machine". But Brid Rodgers's magic didn't rub off on the electorate and everywhere at the count centre yesterday, there was evidence of the slick Sinn Fein machine.
Huddled at a couple of tables were young republicans, identifiable by their Sinn Fein stickers and their regulation uniform of checked shirt and jeans. All morning they tapped information gathered by the tally workers into laptops while their mobile phones buzzed constantly. By lunchtime Pat Doherty was already declaring to someone on the other end of his phone, "We have it won."
The atmosphere was oppressive in the canteen area. The centre's no-smoking rule had been abandoned and clouds of smoke hovered over most of the politicos. The UUP's James Cooper could be seen mopping his brow as he queued for his lunch. The respective camps of the SDLP's Tommy Gallagher and Independent candidate Jim Dixon were noticeably subdued.
The day belonged to Sinn Fein. Party supporters denied admittance to the centre brandished a Pat Doherty poster on the window with MP written on it in black marker. Although it was more than an hour before the final result was declared, the man who held the poster was confident. "I'm surer of that than I am there is a heaven."