The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, called on supporters at a packed meeting in Liberty Hall, Dublin, last night to "take ownership of the peace process".
Today, there would be another attempt to "dump" Sinn Fein out of the multi-party talks. If all the attempts finally succeeded, he told the audience, they could do something about it, by, for example, wearing a green ribbon in support of republican prisoners.
"I didn't come in here to make a big heavy speech: I am knackered, I am banjaxed," he said. But he warned there could not be a peace settlement while there were republican prisoners in Ireland and in Britain.
He urged people to get involved in Sinn Fein's campaigns in the coming by-elections in the Republic. "In terms of the big picture, think beyond May, think beyond this year, think beyond next year."
The "Brits" had been in Dublin Castle for a few hundred years and now it was the place for tax and beef tribunals. Referring to the pictures of former colonial rulers in the castle, Mr Adams quipped to applause from the crowd: "I like to see the Ascendancy class hanging."
"Is an Irish Government going to throw Sinn Fein out of these talks?" he asked. The Government yesterday morning - "in fairness to them" - had not presented a joint indictment with the British government. He added "in fairness" that the present Government in Dublin had contributed "in a very significant way" to the development of the peace process but was under pressure because Mr Trimble had told Mr Blair that if Sinn Fein was not excluded from the talks, the Unionists would walk out.
Mr Adams contrasted the speed of the RUC in pointing the finger at republicans for last week's killings with its record when it came to investigating killings of Catholics.