Washington look out - the peace process is in town. All shades of Northern politics from green to orange were in the monumental National Building Museum for the annual American Ireland Fund dinner last night.
Mr Peter King, who represents Long Island in Congress, was looking forward to the publication of Terrible Beauty, his thriller set in Belfast and New York.
Mr Gary McMichael of the Ulster Democratic Party has been coming since 1994: "We were the first unionist or loyalist group to come out. I was the only unionist to go to the White House in 1995. The reason we keep coming is because it is important to be able to articulate unionism to an element in America that is interested in what is taking place in Northern Ireland."
Ms Trina Vargo is a former aide to Senator Ted Kennedy and has embarked on a new venture, the US-Alliance, aimed at promoting educational and political links between the two countries. It will initially provide 11 scholarships for American post-graduate students to Irish universities, to build up a new generation of civic and political leaders. Sir Reg Empey, vice-president of the Ulster Unionist Party, was also present: "There's more unionists in this room than shinners and that is a remarkable transformation compared to five years ago."
The new US ambassador to Ireland, Mr Mike Sullivan, was celebrating his first two months in the job: "I went with very high expectations and they have all been exceeded."
Ms Eileen Bell of the Alliance Party and Ms Patricia Lewsley of the SDLP were among a group of women Assembly members taking part in a leadership programme organised by the American University in Washington: "It's a good opportunity for the women from the Assembly to get together," Ms Lewsley said.
Ms Inez McCormack, vice-president of the ICTU and a member of the new Human Rights Commission, said there was a shadow cast by the murder of Rosemary Nelson: "The best respect we can give her is that we move forward," she said.
Mrs Anne Smith, who represents the UUP in North America, finds St Patrick's Week a good occasion for networking: "The whole week has become important as the gathering point for everyone from Northern Ireland to discuss issues in an informal setting."
Others among the large crowd included the former chairman of the Arts Council, Prof Ciaran Benson of UCD, who is advising on a major programme for the millennium at the Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts.
Mr John Hume, Mr Seamus Mallon, the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Dr David Alderdice were among the other well known faces present. Definitely the place to be on the eve of Paddy's Day