Democratic Unionist Party leader Dr Ian Paisley's meeting in Dublin on Thursday had brought tears of "sheer joy", the President, Mrs Mary McAleese, said. Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent, interviewed the President yesterday.
"To tell you the truth, I cried yesterday when I saw him in Dublin. I cried with sheer joy," she said, just minutes after she was deemed elected for a second seven-year term. Mrs McAleese, who was joined by her husband, Martin, promised to serve her full term of office and to a be a president for "all of the people".
The ceremony in the Custom House was attended by the Tánaiste, Ms Mary Harney; the Minister for Finance, Mr Brian Cowen; the Minister for Justice, Mr Michael McDowell; the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dick Roche; and the leader of Fine Gael, Mr Enda Kenny.
The declaration of Mrs McAleese's election was delayed by approximately 20 minutes because of last-minute efforts by former Independent MEP Ms Dana Rosemary Scallon.
Ms Scallon argued that the nomination process was unfair. In a plea to the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Finnegan, she said the President could have brought about an election by resigning from office.
In brief remarks to questions about Ms Scallon, the President said she had been ready for an election, but "no one" had come forward.
On the Paisley visit, the President said: "I know that it wasn't the end of any road, it was probably the beginning of a new road. I just thought it was wonderful to have lived this long to have seen Ian Paisley in Dublin talking politics with our Government, using the words partnership, wanting to be a good neighbour.
"I have waited 30 years, or longer to hear him use those words. I have to say that I thought yesterday was one of the loveliest, quietest days in politics from which I take great heart. It wasn't a massive, big Good Friday day, but every day can't be a big Good Friday day. But, yesterday, I thought there were the seeds of a new future that allows a lot of people to go to their beds at night safe and secure and feeling that they belong in a society that isn't a threatening or menacing place. I thought yesterday was the start of that.
"We in this generation have had the wonderful opportunity of untwisting all of these things. But we are really only at the start of it.
"We have never worked together in real partnership over an extended period of time and we are beginning to see what happens when we work in partnership." Asked if she would welcome the DUP leader to Áras an Uachtaráin, she said there would be "an open house for him".
Members of the DUP had visited the Áras in recent years, she said: "There will be a time for all of that. What we must do now is not put each other under unnecessary pressure but to go at the pace that people feel that they can go at, and to be very, very grateful for changing times that are changing for the better."
Progress has been made in Northern Ireland through "sheer hard work" by large numbers of people. "Martin and I are proud to have been a part of that, a small part of it, but a part of it nonetheless.
"Suddenly things that were unthinkable historically became thinkable. Ian Paisley came to Dublin to talk politics with An Taoiseach. I never thought that I would see that day.
"I honestly never thought that I would see the day. I believe these things are little miracles. They are the kind of little miracles that happen every day, but they are not happening out of the blue, they are happening because people are making the connections, reaching out to each other."