Republican opponents of the Good Friday agreement were lining up yesterday to denounce it and to accuse Sinn Fein and the IRA of surrendering to a British and unionist agenda. Their language was strong and emotive, but so far the provisional republican movement has not wobbled.
Easter Sunday is when republicans celebrate their birthright, so to speak, by rededicating themselves to achieving a united Ireland. Mr Gerry Adams, Mr Martin McGuinness and former IRA gunrunner Mr Martin Ferris at various commemorations did just that yesterday.
It did not impress the likes of Republican Sinn Fein, or the Irish Republican Socialist Party and by implication its INLA military wing. The IRSP accused provisional republicans of "capitulation". Republican Sinn Fein claimed it was guilty of "treachery".
The IRSP spoke of its "politics and agitation" combining with the "cutting edge and tenacity" of the INLA to wreck the agreement. Republican Sinn Fein argued that the Sinn Fein leadership "for personal and political advancement has sold out the republican position".
Very serious charges to be levelled against any republican, especially such senior members as Messrs Adams, McGuinness and Ferris. But, while enunciating republican dogma and praising the IRA, the Sinn Fein leadership implicitly seemed to be keeping faith with Friday's agreement. If they were nervous about republican dissidents they didn't show it.
There is still, as the deputy SDLP leader, Mr Seamus Mallon, said yesterday, a degree of Sinn Fein ambiguity about its attitude, but so far no one is running away from the deal. All the indications yesterday were that the grassroots are behind the leadership.
Several thousand people turned up in Derry, Carrickmore, Co Tyrone and Milltown Cemetery in Belfast where respectively Mr McGuinness, Mr Adams and Mr Ferris spoke. This was in marked contrast to the relatively small numbers - in the hundreds - which appeared at the IRSP and Republican Sinn Fein commemorations.
Mr Adams was at his public relations best in Carrickmore, a traditional republican heartland. People of all ages were anxious to shake his hand, to wish him well, and to express their faith in his leadership.
According to one observer in Carrickmore, Mr Adams "touched all the right buttons". He gave what was described as a very "charismatic" address, describing the deal as part of a transitional move towards the ultimate goal of a united Ireland.
It was the same in Derry and Belfast, where Mr McGuinness and Mr Ferris were warmly congratulated on their achievements to date. People there told reporters they had complete trust in the provisional republican leadership. The IRA itself expressed a similar conviction. A statement read on behalf of the IRA at various 1916 commemorations praised the Sinn Fein negotiating team for "working tirelessly" to establish a "just and lasting peace".
"We will carefully study the outcome of the talks process against its potential to move us towards our primary objective, a 32-county democratic, socialist republic. We will judge it against its potential to deliver a just and durable peace in our country," the IRA statement added.
And this was the message at all the provisional republican rallies yesterday. Mr Adams said the agreement must "be considered not through a unionist filter or exaggerated hype by others, but in the context of our future strategy, policy and objectives. In other words, has the struggle been advanced and how can it be advanced further?"
Mr McGuinness in Derry acknowledged many republicans would have concerns about the document. But he urged all supporters to study it in detail and said that the leadership would act similarly before deciding whether to accept or reject the "package".
Mr Ferris in Milltown very significantly said that Sinn Fein had got the "best result possible". The republican goal remained the same as ever, "an end to British rule in Ireland". Here was Sinn Fein having it both ways: repeating the slogans of a united Ireland, but subliminally telling supporters that this is the best deal on offer at this stage.
So, it is too early to say whether Sinn Fein will urge a Yes vote in the May 22nd referendum. There must be many further meetings, including a crucial ardfheis next weekend, before that decision is taken. But it is fair to deduce from yesterday's commemorations that it will hardly demand a No vote.