QUEEN'S SKETCH:"TAOISEACH," WE called hims at first, quickly correcting that to "Mr" and then to "Deputy", still unsure how to place the well-travelled Bertie Ahern in the new political world.
Then we settled on "Doctor", because that was the honorary title conferred on him yesterday morning during the Mitchell Conference at Queen's University, Belfast.
Tony Blair received the honorary doctorate of law with Dr Ahern, but his pre-recorded acceptance speech was delivered by video because he had business in the Middle East. Bertie also had important foreign business, but it didn't stop him making a personal appearance in the college, looking surprisingly fresh.
Bertie was mainly robed in red, the colour he was loudly supporting only a matter of hours earlier across a few time zones in Russia, where Manchester United stole the European Cup after John Terry blew his penalty chance.
A flight back from Moscow to London in the early hours of the morning, and then a charter hop to Dublin, and then a trip north to Belfast, and he still managed to make the university in time for the special graduation ceremony beginning at 10.30am. The stern Queen's communications officer, introducing the later press conference, insisted questions only relating to the conference could be asked.
So, we wondered, how was the match, Bertie?
"A good night, an enjoyable night," he said. "My heart does not normally go out to oppositions - of any kind - but I must say to Chelsea, and Terry in particular, I genuinely felt sorry. I'd say United were lucky, in my estimation, I have to be fair about it . . . But, it is more important to be here today," he added, considerate and diplomatic to the last.
Ahern by now probably has had his fill of all these self-congratulating peace process exercises. Not that the Mitchell Conference, named after Senator Mitchell whose patrician patience did so much in helping bring about the Belfast Agreement, was quite such an event.
Bringing together the great and the good from the political, academic, security and community world, its focus was on the future, its theme "moving on from conflict", its hope that lessons from the Northern resolution could be applied elsewhere around the globe.
And perhaps there are lessons to be learned, because one unexpected but unresolved piece of Northern Ireland - or North of Ireland - conflict resolution was achieved at the start of the two-day conference yesterday that surprised and gladdened us.
In the Whitla Hall of Queen's, where the conference was held, David Trimble and Séamus Mallon embraced in a warm and genuine manly hug.
"Holy Mother of God," we expostulated: "Are we seeing things? Mallon and Trimble finally enjoying each other's company?"
These two, who politically as first minister and deputy first minister strove to do business together, but who personally never gelled? The fact their offices were located at opposite ends of Parliament Buildings, Stormont, was seen as a symbol of that testy, difficult relationship.
It was interesting, too, to hear them speaking again: Trimble, intelligent, forensic, fierce in his defence of the Belfast Agreement; Mallon, equally protective of the agreement (he called the St Andrews Agreement the "Good Friday agreement in drag"), very generous in his comments about Trimble, and also dramatic, poetic and generally eloquent in his delivery - qualities largely missing from the current Assembly.
Mallon and Trimble are friends. The war is over. We can move on.
