This weekend is pivotal to the electoral progress of Fianna Fáil
Not since it was the accommodation centre for national delegations during the week of the Eurovision Song Contest in Millstreet will Killarney have seen anything on the scale of this event.
About 5,000 party activists will be on the move tomorrow afternoon and early Saturday morning, making their way to Killarney.
Much of the talk between delegates in the cars and on the trains will be about the current state of the Government and the party. This is Fianna Fáil's first Árd Fheis gathering since the general election and, ordinarily, it would be celebrating the historic re-election of the Ahern-led Government.
Instead, the one-day event will be an opportunity for the party to take stock, refocus, get something out of its system and present a confident face in media coverage of the event.
Fianna Fáil Árd Fheiseanna are unique events. They are a peculiar combination of policy session, political rally, social jamboree and television extravaganza. The power of the Árd Fheis as a party gathering in the modern era is not in any formal motion-passing authority.
It is now an opportunity to test the party's mood. It acts as a two-way communication mechanism between the party leadership and the grass roots.
Delegates will gather looking for a message to take home to their localities, where they are the ones taking the flak for the way this Government is viewed.
The message they are likely to receive will be one of "don't panic in the medium term, things will come right".
Platform speakers will argue that halfway through a second term and in the middle of an international recession things were always going to be difficult.
The Taoiseach will give two addresses over the weekend.
His Friday night speech will be targeted mainly at the party membership. Saturday night's address will be targeted at the wider audience. Both will talk a lot about working, building and leading for the long-term with a particular emphasis on public sector reform.
However, delegates will not want to just listen. They will have their own advice for their public representations and leadership. In the workshops, but also in the foyers and bars, delegates will not be slow to let the politicians know what they think.
Árd Fheis weekends are also key occasions for the making and breaking of political reputations within Fianna Fáil. One of the biggest talking points over the weekend is likely to be the performance, or otherwise, of the various ministers.
Some delegates will even engage in the premature political game of "spot the next leader". At the various workshops and question and answer sessions, each of the Fianna Fáil Cabinet members in turn will get the chance to showcase their achievements and plans. They'll find a demanding audience.
The weekend will also provide an opportunity for delegates to get a close-up look at some of the party's up and coming political talent, in particular those who are knocking on the door of Cabinet promotion.
There will be an informal clapometer in operation. John O'Donoghue, on his native turf, can be expected to shine.
He can be expected to have the most colourful jibes at the expense of Pat Rabbitte and Enda Kenny. Delegates will also listen closely to Brian Cowen not only to hear what he has to say about the tense state of the peace process but also because he too can be relied on to give the opposition a good going over.
On the fringes of the Árd Fheis, the ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants will inevitably feature in conversations.
For Micheál Martin, it will be a key weekend. On Friday night he takes his arguments in favour of the smoking ban to the national audience from the Late Late Show studio in Donnybrook, where he goes head to head with the vintners' representative.
On Saturday afternoon he will face as difficult a task taking the same argument to the party faithful at the health workshop in Killarney.
He will find it easier going than some suspect. There is a quiet majority in favour of this measure on health grounds. While the publicans have been noisy, for political activists some publicans have overstepped the mark, trying to bully the Government with a refusal to implement the law.
One issue that is likely to generate much heat, either at Charlie McCreevy's workshop or elsewhere, is the cuts in community employment schemes.
Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members and councillors are particularly annoyed about these.
At the coal face they see that these schemes not only provide employment to many semi-detached from the labour market but also make a real impact with the community and social services they provide.
OVER the weekend there will also be some quiet chat among delegates about recent controversies for some of the party's individual deputies.
There will be talk too about recent resignations of councillors. One of those was David Maher, a New Ross town councillor who got a lot of media coverage for his resignation from the party earlier in this week.
One view likely to be expressed is that his is just another example of councillors getting jittery as local election selection conventions approach.
In highlighting concerns about the Government's perceived right-of-centre stance and cuts in some programmes, he is merely saying what thousands of other Fianna Fáil councillors are saying at cumainn or Comhairle Dáil meetings throughout the country.
Unlike Maher, however, they are prepared to work within the party to make their views known on these issues rather than opting for the short-term Morning Ireland megaphone that goes with resignations like this.
Whatever about the standing and perception of the Government, the party itself is in relatively strong condition.
In an era when it is increasingly sophisticated in its politics and media relations, Fianna Fáil also manages to sustain an impressive network of personnel and cumainn throughout the country. There will be a lot of discussion at the Árd Fheis about next June's local and European elections.
The party's activists and election planners know that they have a tough fight on their hands. Most of its selection conventions for the local elections have already been concluded.
In many areas, new young candidates have been selected. It is hoped these will insulate the party vote share against an anti-Government backlash.
However, the constituency redraw announced this week makes Fianna Fáil's task in the European election next June even harder. The fact that Munster and Leinster have been reduced from four to three seats could cost the party a seat in each constituency.
Fianna Fáil is not in denial; it knows it has a problem. It will be hoping the Árd Fheis weekend is a turning point on a three-year journey to electoral recovery.
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