Mood of the Conference: Many rank-and-file members were confident the conference would help relaunch the party, writes Dan Keenan, Northern Ireland News Editor
"Our biggest weakness is that we've never boasted about what we've done," Mr John Hume told the SDLP annual dinner.
It's a sentiment many delegates agree with, and it could be about to change.
Of the rank-and-file members approached by The Irish Times, all agreed that the weekend had been positive, underscoring the authority of the party leader and closing the door on the shock and disappointment following the November election.
Ms Sharon Haughey (22), from south Armagh said: "The conference was held in a very good atmosphere.
"Taking into account a bad election in November, this is something the party really needed. This weekend marked the rebuilding of the SDLP."
She added that at the next Assembly elections Mr Durkan would "definitely not" be the youngest candidate as was the case in November, hinting at her own desire to seek a nomination.
She said the positive mood was due to factors other than the leader's speech. "People have realised we can't take our supporters for granted.
"We've got to be out there working on the ground and we've got to let people know what we're doing. This has been an opportunity for us all to regroup as a party, but there's a clear feeling here that the SDLP has a lot to give. People are very hopeful and are willing to give a lot."
Mr Peter Gibson, a long-standing member from east Belfast, said he also believed the conference would help relaunch the party.
"I felt really positive about the whole feeling at conference. I thought Mark's speech was very well pitched. But there's clearly a lot of work still to be done.
"Our ideas about a united Ireland with the institutions of the agreement still intact will prove a challenge for many both North and South."
He said there needed to be a real push to select a solid candidate for the European Parliament seat held by Mr Hume. But he was confident the seat could be retained.
Mr Donovan McClelland from south Antrim, who lost his Assembly seat at the last election insisted that the conference would mark a turn-around for the SDLP.
"I believe it fervently," he said. "I listened to the leader's speech and I was very excited about what he had to say.
"I could feel the sense in that hall that the people wanted to go out and do battle. I think there was a variety of reasons why we didn't do as well as hoped in the election. But I think that things are now changing, we are going to learn by our mistakes but I am also confident that we can win in June."
He said there would now be no further grumbling by some members about Mr Durkan's leadership.
Mrs Gerry Cosgrove from west Belfast said the conference was very positive.
"We've had two days of good debate and discussed a lot of issues.
"The party leader gave a tremendous speech and it can be clearly seen from the ovation that he got that the party is fully behind him.
"We clearly want to regain the ground we lost in November - the people are there and they're going to do it."
She was confident that the lessons from the Assembly election had been learned and that the party would approach the next election with more enthusiasm and confidence.
Mr Ben Caraher from south Armagh, a party member since its foundation said: "There was plenty of evidence of resolve and vitality at the conference. The speech was very good and it connected with the needs of the party and boosted the morale of conference."
Asked about the party's capacity to counter the electoral rise of Sinn Féin, he added: "We are not in the business of stopping movements like Sinn Féin.
"We have an agenda of our own and we're glad to see other parties like the Ulster Unionists, Sinn Féin and increasingly the DUP are accepting this agenda."
He said the electorate would realise that the best way to guarantee the potential of the Belfast Agreement was with "a strong SDLP presence in the political system".