Taking the long view of politics, Mr Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin yesterday went canvassing amongst the young skateboarders congregated around the Central Bank in Dublin's Temple Bar.
More than a few giggled embarrassedly; yet others were still impressed at meeting a face usually seen only on television. Quite a few, however, did not have a clue who he was, and cared less.
Mr McGuinness has a steady repartee and a smile for these occasions. "It sounds dangerous," or "Is there a skateboarding competition going on?"
Leaving the group, Mr McGuinness headed quickly in the direction of a middle-aged couple, who appeared rather frightened at the prospect of coming to the attention of politicians of any hue.
"Which party is he?" asked one young girl, as the North's Minister for Education departed, surrounded by a small group of photographers and a TV3 camera crew.
Earlier, Mr McGuinness had called on the country's young to vote Sinn Féin on May 17th. "Over the last number of months, we have listened to commentators and politicians write off the young vote.
"They say that young people aren't interested in politics so their relevance is limited in this campaign. But everywhere I go, I see the opposite as true," he told journalists in the party's Parnell Square headquarters.
"It is clear that young people haven't abandoned politics, but strongly feel that the establishment parties have abandoned them. They want to be convinced that their vote will matter," he went on.
Judging by the numbers of youthful canvassers filling the corridors in the Sinn Féin office as they prepared to fan out across the city centre, the party's efforts at attracting new members over recent years have borne fruit.
The chairman of the TCD cumann, Mr Ciaran Doherty, said: "Sinn Féin has made huge advances in the universities and colleges in Ireland. In Trinity College, where I study, over 3,000 people have attended Sinn Féin events."
On Dame Street, the young canvassers tried to press campaign literature into the hands of two gardaí waiting to cross at traffic lights. Both declined, with mounting irritation.
"We'll be paying your wages soon," said one in the group, caring little about whether he was overheard or not.
