The Omagh bombing has cast a shadow over the Humbert Summer School in Ballina, Co Mayo, but one of the school's themes this year, consolidating peace in the North, was reaffirmed at the opening ceremony last night.
There was a minute's silence in memory of those who died or were injured in Omagh. The school director, Mr John Cooney, told the guests who included the British ambassador, Ms Veronica Sutherland, that the opening ceremonies were being kept brief because of the mourning that was continuing in Northern Ireland.
But he added: "We are defying the xenophobic nihilism of the people who use violence in a mad pursuit of ends they can never achieve by such means.
"Consolidating peace in the North is our most important theme this year and we will not be deflected from our agenda to explore ways of bringing about a pluralist, progressive and peaceful Ireland.
"In a way, we are continuing the peace process here."
This, the 12th Annual Humbert School, was officially opened by the Government Chief Whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, who also heads the Government's 1798 Commemoration Committee.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, will deliver the keynote address to the Humbert dinner tomorrow and he will talk about the Northern peace process.
This year's event also marks the 200th Anniversary of the landing at Kilcummin near Killala of the French invasion force led by Gen Jean Joseph Amable Humbert on August 22nd, 1798.
A new book about the French landing by Mr Cooney called Humbert - a French General in Rebel Ireland was also introduced at the opening ceremony. One guest of honour was a descendant of Humbert, Mr Pierre Maurice from Paris. Another guest was Mr Patrick O'Keeffe, an Attorney in Law from New Orleans, the city where Humbert died after fighting alongside Gen Andrew Jackson.
In his book, Mr Cooney dismisses the claim by some that it was "too little and in the wrong place".
Mr Cooney writes that "in spite of the odds against him, Humbert fought courageously and cunningly in Ireland. His Mayo allies were not allowed the time and training needed to transform them into an equivalent fighting force. But the best tribute paid to the Franco-Irish insurgents was paid by Bishop Stock when he wrote that not one drop of blood was shed except on the field of battle. Mayo avoided the sectarianism that befell Ulster and Wexford, no mean legacy to recall in 1998 the year of the Stormont Good Friday Peace Accord".