St Patrick's Hall in Dublin Castle was packed with local dignitaries, many of them wearing chains of office, as they awaited the announcement of the results of the 1998 Tidy Towns competition.
The tall figure of Fine Gael TD Phil Hogan stood out among them. But his name-tag gave no indication of his previous eminence in national politics.
He was simply listed as one of the many representatives of Kilkenny County Council. Kilkenny city was then named as the winner of the large town category.
"There was no leak," he assured the Irish Times. "But we did know we were in with a shout."
A real, loud shout came from the Clare contingent when it was announced that Ennis was the winner of the special 40th anniversary award. Ms Mary Coote-Ryan and Ms Josephine Cotter-Coughlan, both of the urban district council, thrust their fists in the air, shouted "Yes", and embraced as the £5,000 award was announced.
Ms Cotter-Coughlan said that both the urban district council and the local community had been working hard all year for the award. Ennis Civic Trust had organised a sculpture trail, Costellos' auctioneers had won the new shopfront award, and there was even an anti-litter song to promote the cause, she said.
"It begins, `In the banner county we're really cleaning up'."
Mrs Coote-Ryan accepted the award on behalf of the town, and then shook the hands of everyone on the platform. "It makes up for the all-Ireland," remarked the MC, RTE's John Bowman.
Mr Bowman was at his most avuncular. There was a pause following the announcement that Ardagh had been named the tidiest village. "Is there a representative?" he inquired, adding: "They weren't expecting to win at all. They're down the back."
When it was announced that they had also won the overall award, the chairman of the village's Tidy Towns committee could not be found again.
"He's still at the back of the hall," said Mr Bowman. "It's shyness."
But the chairman, Mr Seamus Kenny, showed no shyness when he told the MC that there were lots of things on which they could spend the money they had won.
He pointed out that the village was only 1 1/2 miles off the N4 from Dublin to Sligo and Castlebar, and appealed for more visitors.
Ardagh, like Adare, is one of the few internationally-recognised estate villages in Ireland, Mr Kenny said. It was established by the Fetherston family, who came to Ireland in 1704.
Its heritage centre receives about 15,000 visitors a year, but it could cater for twice that number and he hoped to see more visitors.