The Women's Coalition's chief spokesperson, Ms Monica McWilliams, after an agonising "vigil" from early morning to just before midnight won a seat for her party in the Assembly.
She said the long, long day was as bad as labour pains. Her South Belfast supporters nonetheless acted as midwives. They delivered.
Ms McWilliams, having polled almost 4,000 first preferences, had to withstand a difficult battle for the two final seats in South Belfast with Mr Steve McBride of Alliance and Ms Carmel Hanna of the SDLP.
On the 10th and final count Ms McWilliams made the historic breakthrough for her fledgling two-year-old party, taking the fifth seat. Ms Hanna won the final seat for the SDLP and a bitterly disappointed Mr McBride narrowly lost his chance of a place in the Assembly.
Ms McWilliams was in a state of high anxiety throughout the day, but ultimately was delighted with the result and the outcome of the arduous count. Women were used to such waits, she said.
"For many, many years in Northern Ireland women have been the watchers and the waiters. We are accustomed to keeping a vigil, but today the sun has come up for us. Today my dream has come true. The Women's Coalition has a place in that new Assembly.
We are going to make it work," added Ms McWilliams.
None of the party's seven other candidates could win a seat but Ms McWilliams was delighted with the overall performance of the party. She hoped their relative success marked a new departure. Six of the party's candidates broke the 1,000 first preference figure. Ms Jane Morrice, former head of the European Commission office in Belfast won 1,808 votes while Ms Marie Crawley won 1,729 votes in Fermanagh-South Tyrone.
"We want to make a difference. We want to bring a radical kind of politics to Northern Ireland, and to make a change from what we've had before," added Ms McWilliams.
She said that both inside and outside the Assembly the Women's Coalition was determined to make the Belfast Agreement work. The North Belfast and East Belfast counts are to resume today. West Belfast and South Belfast were concluded. In West Belfast Sinn Fein, with party leader Mr Gerry Adams topping the poll, won four seats, with Dr Joe Hendron and Mr Alex Attwood taking the other two for the SDLP.
In South Belfast, in addition to Ms McWilliams and Ms Hanna, Dr Alasdair McDonnell of the SDLP, Mr Michael McGimpsey and Mr Esmond Birnie of the Ulster Unionist Party and Mr Mark Robinson of the DUP won seats.
Mr Peter Robinson, deputy leader of the DUP - no relation of Mr Mark Robinson - and Alliance leader Lord Alderdice won seats. When the count resumes tomorrow Mr David Ervine of the loyalist Progressive Unionist Party seems certain to take a seat.
His colleague Mr Billy Hutchinson also seems certain to win a seat in North Belfast when the count resumes today. When the count was closed, Mr Nigel Dodds of the DUP and Mr Alban Maginness of the SDLP had won seats.
