Micheál Martin looked relaxed as he made a typically low-key entrance to the main stand at Páirc Esler in Newry a few minutes before the start of the game between Down and his native Cork in the GAA’s National Football League.
There were no advance announcements that he was travelling north eight days ago, nothing was said over the stadium’s public address system, and many people in the ground were entirely unaware that the newly-installed taoiseach was sitting among them.
Martin did not have an entourage, there was no sign of other politicians, and he was simply accompanied up the steps by Down and Ulster GAA officials before giving a brief wave to nearby spectators as he took his seat.
The atmosphere was reassuringly normal throughout, and Martin reacted stoically when Cork missed a very scoreable free with the last kick of a hugely entertaining game to lose by a point.
I watched from a distance as well-wishers approached him after the final whistle for handshakes, selfies and autographs as he headed to his waiting black Mercedes, which then eased largely unnoticed into the congested post-match traffic on the Warrenpoint Road.
Most of those he encountered were clearly delighted to see him, and, after the renewed mandate he gained in the Irish general election last November, the days when he was regularly underestimated south of the border are certainly long gone.
I first met him back in November 2009, when he was minister for foreign affairs and a number of editors were invited to join him for dinner at his department’s discrete but upmarket south Belfast base.
The proceedings started without the host, as there were sudden and dramatic developments in the case of an elderly Irish missionary priest, Fr Michael Sinnott, who had been kidnapped in the Philippines the previous month by a gang demanding a ransom of $2 million.
Martin was personally involved in the negotiations throughout his Belfast visit, and, after a lengthy delay, eventually appeared at the reception, as unruffled as ever, to confirm that the 79-year-old cleric had been safely freed without any money changing hands.
He was quietly impressive as he briefed guests about his other dealings at Stormont and Westminster, and it was not a surprise when he succeeded Brian Cowen as Fianna Fáil leader but not taoiseach some 14 months later.
It was hardly an auspicious time to take on the post, with his party held responsible by an angry public for the major economic crash of 2008, and within a matter of weeks suffering the worst general election result since its foundation.
Martin settled down for what was inevitably going to be a lengthy period in opposition, with a range of commentators predicting that not only was Fianna Fáil doomed but he would go down in history as its only leader never to head the Irish government.
He took on the long-term task of restoring his party’s fortunes, as ever with as little fuss as possible, and was rewarded almost a decade later, in June 2020, by becoming taoiseach as the result of a previously unthinkable rotating deal with Fine Gael.
The continuing arrangement was endorsed by voters 10 weeks ago, so Martin will be back in the top office until the end of 2027.
He deserves particular credit for his determination to drive forward his Shared Island project, which has made a real difference in many areas, with the symbolic and practical value of the Narrow Water cross-border bridge taking shape just down the road from Páirc Esler.
The taoiseach, unlike some other TDs, plainly has a detailed personal knowledge of the north, as confirmed in an Irish Times interview last year when he intriguingly set out the books on his then reading list.
They were Stakeknife’s Dirty War by Richard O’Rawe, Face Down – the Disappearance of Thomas Niedermayer by David Blake Knox, and Dirty Linen by Martin Doyle, reflecting appalling past acts by republicans, loyalists and the forces of the state.
Martin’s present in-tray includes the heavyweight document produced last year by the Oireachtas all-party Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, recommending that preparations for a possible unity referendum should commence immediately.
It is not possible to say when such a poll will take place, or what the result may be, but, inside Fianna Fáil and across all strands of northern nationalism, there will be an expectation that, allowing for his familiarly cautious approach, and his indication that an outcome is unlikely in the next five years, the taoiseach will still have to play a much more decisive role in the debate.
While he may have been slightly disappointed with the outcome of his most recent northern engagement, there are bigger issues ahead.
n.doran@irishnews.com