The flags of 10 new European Union members from eastern Europe and the Mediterranean were solemnly raised yesterday as leaders of the 25-nation bloc, including Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, put aside mundane conflicts for a day to celebrate a historic achievement.
In perfect sunshine at Irish President Mary McAleese's official residence, the leaders of a continent divided for five decades by the Cold War posed for an enlarged family photograph before sitting down to a dinner of Irish salmon and duck, washed down with French and - symbolically - Slovenian wine.
"We must never forget that from war we have created peace. From hatred we have created respect. From division we have created union. From dictatorship and oppression we have created vibrant and sturdy democracies. From poverty we have created prosperity," Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern declared.
McAleese alluded to Europe's dark decades of war and ideological conflict in an address on the Day of Welcomes for Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Cyprus and Malta.
"It is a momentous day of celebration when the past is laid to rest and future is anticipated with great hope," she told the leaders in an address.
"We belong to Europe's most blessed generations for we are witnesses to the unfolding of the future the Union's founders dreamed of."
Children of immigrants to Ireland from the 24 other EU nations presented folded flags to the leaders, who handed them over to Irish army cadets to be raised to the strains of Beethoven's Ode to Joy, the official EU anthem.
The blue European flag with its yellow gold stars was raised last as the visibly moved leaders stood to attention.
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski shed a tear as he hugged fellow leaders on the accomplishment of east European nations' dream of reuniting with west European brothers from whom they were parted by World War Two and its aftermath.
The presence of the leaders of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey was a reminder that EU enlargement is a work in progress, with the Balkans the next frontier for reunification.
Irish Nobel laureate poet Seamus Heaney read a poem, Beacons at Bealtaine, written for the occasion, and piper Liam O'Flynn played a haunting composition accompanied by a harp and string quartet.
Some 5,000 out of Ireland's 11,000 police force were on duty to protect the leaders amid fears of terrorist attacks or violent demonstrations. And 2,500 soldiers camped in the public park around McAleese's Farmleigh House residence, which was ringed with a steel fence, to deter trouble.
Helicopters hovered overhead, naval vessels patrolled Dublin Bay and a squad of experts in biological, chemical and nuclear attacks was on standby to protect Europe's leaders.
But good-natured anti-globalisation protests organised by the Dublin Grassroots Network, and a coalition called "Another Europe is Possible" featuring trade unions, Green and Sinn Fein activists passed off peacefully.
A Dublin street fair showcased the cuisine, music, culture and tourist attractions of new and old member states and candidate countries, starring Austrian thigh-slapping dancers.
Around Ireland, there were local festivals in 10 towns twinned for the day with one of the new member states.