Some 200 people from political, media and diplomatic circles came to the Benaki Museum in Athens last night to hear President McAleese speak on Ireland and the EU. She told members of the Hellenic Centre for European Studies that Irish people welcomed enlargement.
While one of the Irish problems with the Nice Treaty, neutrality, had been addressed at Seville, there were others - such as a feeling or sense of disconnectedness from the centre, Brussels, and the need to find some vehicle to express this sense of alienation.
The treaty was complex and the low turnout for the referendum last time could be explained by many people thinking they did not adequately understand the arguments.
Against some expectations, joining the EEC had not diminished Ireland's sovereignty.
The EU, the President said, benefited smaller countries like Ireland and Greece enormously. It allowed Ireland exercise sovereignty to its advantage and made us more aware of it.
"It gave a considerably added scope and force to our sovereignty. It gave us a voice in the affairs of the continent disproportionate to our size. It gave us a remarkable self-assertiveness and self-confidence and as we sat at the Union table beside our former colonial masters an exciting new calibration of that difficult old relationship began to happen.
"As Ireland emerged from the shadow of a large and dominant neighbour to a partnership of equals, a new level of mature friendship and respect grew between ourselves and Great Britain and out of those healthier relationships the peace process in Northern Ireland was crafted, developed and is sustained today," she said.
The President's day started with an 8.30 a.m. visit to the Acropolis, where, mingling with tourists taking advantage of the relative cool of the early morning, she was given a guided tour of the ancient site. A surprised group of Irish visitors shook her hand and wished her well. After receiving courtesy calls from Greek political leaders, Mrs McAleese laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and inspected a guard of honour drawn from the Greek army, navy and air force. She was presented with the Gold Medal of the Hellenic Parliament and the Gold Medal of Merit of the City of Athens. She had lunch with Prime Minister Costas Simitis.
During the presidential visit the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, has had talks with Greek ministers on matters of mutual interest. They concentrated on the EU, enlargement, including Nice, and in particular the parallels between Cyprus and Northern Ireland. The political crisis in Turkey was also on their agenda.
Although contentious politics rarely arise publicly on State visits, so strong is Greek feeling about the division of Cyprus that at the State dinner on Monday night President Constantinos Stephanopoulos spoke of "the continuing illegal military occupation of part of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.
"We seek a comprehensive, just and viable solution to the Cyprus issue on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions," he said. "The Turkish and Turkish-Cypriot side, though, do not seem willing to help in the solution of the problem on the basis of these resolutions . . . they are possibly driven by other, unstated, priorities. In any case, we aim at the rapid accession of Cyprus to the European Union which we believe will happen very soon.".
Answering questions last night, Mrs McAleese said Ireland supported UN efforts for a settlement but she hoped Cyprus could join the EU in any case. No two problems were the same but while Northern Ireland could not be taken as a template, the North gave Cyprus hope.
"Ninety per cent of something is better than 100 per cent of nothing," the President said.