For some there may not have been quite the same magic as in 1990. There were fewer of the memorable lines - mna na hEireann and come dance with me in Ireland - which have survived all those seven years. Yet, for all of that, President Mary McAleese put her own individual stamp on the office at her inauguration ceremony in Dublin Castle.
She made it clear in her first address that she will be a very different President for what she perceives to be a very different country. If Mary Robinson was the pioneer who passed the threshold to a new pluralist Ireland, Mary McAleese set out her vision of a changed Ireland today.
Being the first Northern nationalist to be elected Head of State, it was inevitable that the Northern problem would be the priority of her Presidency. Acknowledging in the early part of her speech that "it is my special privilege and delight to be the first President from Ulster", she proceeded to devote half of her first message to the Irish people to her theme of "building bridges".
With the fears generated by the election campaign controversy fresh in her mind, President McAleese was wise to admit that "to speak of reconciliation is to raise a nervous query in the hearts of some North of the Border, in the place of my birth". She took considerable time to pose the "awesome" challenge facing her. Her message was conveyed in the words of a poem, Come to the Edge, written by the English poet, Christopher Logue.
Mrs McAleese gave the strong impression, on her first day that she hopes to play a strong role in unfolding events in Northern Ireland. "We hope and pray, indeed we insist, that we have seen the last of violence. We demand the right to solve our problems by dialogue and the noble pursuit of consensus. We hope to see that consensus pursued without the language of hatred and contempt, and we wish all those engaged in that endeavour well."
The second main theme of her inaugural address was the fruits, and the effects, of the booming economy. She seemed to be indicating, perhaps, that she would have a firmer role to play in promoting industrial Ireland throughout the world.
There were other threads in her speech which were, uniquely, President McAleese. She cautioned, on two occasions, about the dangers of cynicism.
"May we never become so cynical that we forget to be grateful," she said, referring to the many generations who have been sources of inspiration to nurture our talent and instill determination into this country. Then, later, she saw our social problems as "problems which cynicism and self-doubt can never redress but painstaking commitment can". President McAleese's religion was also woven in and around her whole address. She invited people "to work in partnership with me to dedicate ourselves to the task of creating a wonderful millennium gift to the Child of Bethlehem, whose 2,000th birthday we will soon celebrate - the gift of an island where difference is celebrated with joyful curiosity and generous respect and where in the words of John Hewitt each may grasp his neighbour's hand as a friend".
There were other ways, besides the inaugural speech, in which a different kind of Presidency was forecast yesterday. The leadership of the Northern Ireland's nationalist parties were in full attendance. The only unionist party member there was Harvey Bicker, an Ulster Unionist Party councillor from Co Down, the new President's home county. Lord Alderdice of the Alliance Party, who had asked her to withdraw during the election campaign, was seated beside the Sinn Fein leader, Mr Gerry Adams.
Professor Patricia Casey, a personal friend and anti-abortion activist, was among the President's special guests.
More than one precedent was set by the new President at her swearing-in ceremony. She departed with the convention of formal dress. It is arguable whether by so doing she stripped away the sense of ceremony where the President is seen to stand over, and apart from, the panopoly of the other arms of the State.