Just after the referendum on the Belfast Agreement last year, a nationalist friend in Derry said to me: "For the first time I feel I belong here, that I have a stake in the place."
This woman was born and has lived all her life in Northern Ireland. She has spent many years working in the public service. With these words she expressed, most vividly, how the agreement created the possibility of a Northern Ireland which both communities can call home.
We spoke again this week, after ministers had been appointed to the new Executive. "Isn't it just wonderful to hear them talking about ordinary things: hospitals, the environment, schools?" she exclaimed.
That has been the dream for so long, that Northern Ireland's politicians would arrive at a stage when their arguments could be about industrial grants, instead of the allotment of blame for the latest atrocity.
Another friend said: "I can't wait till they are so boring that you turn off the TV when they appear." That may take some time yet. Nobody has a clear idea of how the Executive will work, but, on first appearance, old enemies have conducted themselves with dignity, promising to work for the good of all the people of Northern Ireland.
It must have been difficult enough not only for some ministers at Stormont, but for many, many victims of violence who were outside, watching on television. At times like this, when the air seems to shimmer with hope, it can often seem to those who grieve for lost relatives and friends that their sacrifice has been forgotten. They are urged to look to the future for the sake of peace.
YET, even this week, many people found the courage to do just that. At the Ulster Unionist Council vote on Saturday, Mr David Trimble quoted a letter from the widow of Robert Bradford, urging him to press ahead with his work for peace. The past 30 years have been partly redeemed by many such acts of grace. It must now be a priority for the Executive to ensure that much more generous support and public recognition is given to victims on both sides.
Will it work? I was taken to task on RTE's Questions and Answers on Monday night for not endorsing completely the euphoria of the other panellists. In this State the mood always seems to be one of deepest gloom or unrestricted joy as far as Northern Ireland is concerned. I share the joy that we have come thus far, but believe there will be serious problems ahead if the republican movement does not take serious steps towards decommissioning before February.
Feelings on the unionist side are as strong as ever on this issue. The IRA has criticised David Trimble for erecting new hurdles by threatening to resign if no real progress is made by February, but the hard truth is that the Ulster Unionist leader would not have won the vote in his party's governing council if he had not made this pledge. The Northern Ireland Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, tried to dissuade him from giving such a hostage to fortune, but was persuaded that it was necessary for the motion before the council to be carried.
There seems to be a widespread (and worrying) view in this State that, as the members of the Executive are seen to work together and the benefits of devolution come on line, the bogey of decommissioning will fade away.
BUT anger at the IRA still runs very deep. The fact is that, whatever gloss is put on it, David Trimble has agreed to go into government with Sinn Fein without so much as the sight of a bullet.
Many people, including myself, praise his courage and give thanks for his statesmanship. This must not blind us to the fact that there is a substantial section of his own community which holds the view that he has been humiliated and forced to bend to the will of the IRA. That already weighs very heavily with the British government, which is aware of the difficulties that he has had to overcome.
It will not easily forgive the republican movement if the IRA fails to deliver. Mr Mandelson has already made it clear that he is prepared to bring down the Executive if this happens.
This is a poisonous situation and one which is bound to make the early days of the Executive even more difficult. It is no longer just a question of realpolitik. There is a moral obligation on the republican movement to try and make the new system work. That will require the kind of vision which many unionists demonstrated when they voted for David Trimble last Saturday against their own gut instincts.
The most constructive step the IRA could take would be to make some substantive gesture on decommissioning as soon as possible, well before the February deadline. This would strengthen David Trimble's position in the unionist political community, undermine the anti-agreement unionists and boost confidence within the Executive. It would also be seen as a voluntary and generous contribution to the peace process.
I believe that this is what many nationalists would like to see happen. They know David Trimble has been put to the pin of his collar to get the Executive up and running. They want it to work and they also want the unionists to support it.
There is, after all, little point in having a new political dispensation with which nationalists feel at ease if unionists are deeply mistrustful of it. It is within the republican movement's power to transform this situation.
As the Good Book puts it: "To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." Let us hope that the IRA finds it possible to demonstrate, by acts as well as words, that this is a time for peace.
Mary Holland can be contacted at mholland@irish-times.ie