INTO conference: The INTO is a genuinely national organisation, a bit like the GAA, writes Seán Flynn
It is just after 2am and the entertainment is getting under way at the INTO conference.
There is a band murdering Mick Hanley's Past the Point of Rescue in the conference hall.
In an alcove near the hotel reception, an impromptu singsong - which appears to have been going for three days now - is continuing.
Time to roll out all those Bob Dylan favourites one more time.
I have a chat with a delegate from Clare as he makes his way to the downstairs bar.
He looks at his watch.
The night is only a pup, he whispers . . . the night is only a pup.
Welcome to the INTO Congress 2005.
This is a serious place where 750 committed delegates discuss a huge range of education issues.
It also a place where there is plenty of ceol agus craic.
The most surprising feature of the congress is the relative youth of many delegates.
At a time when so many organisations and political parties bemoan the lack of involvement by the young, the INTO conference still manages to attract scores of young teachers.
There is Mick Hanly and Bob Dylan for the older folk.
But there are also scores of delegates in their 20s carrying iPods and wearing those ubiquitous coloured bands which are de rigueur for young premiership footballers and celebrities.
It is only when you come to the INTO conference that you begin to appreciate how this is a genuinely national organisation, a bit like the GAA, with members in every town and village in the land.
Like the GAA, it is a formidable organisation.
The Irish National Teachers' Organisation has used its lobbying power very skilfully, forcing the Government to fix the leaky roofs in schools and to clear out the rats. It has also taken a strong and progressive lead on areas like special needs and disadvantage.
You would think that the INTO would be resting on its laurels, after all that has been achieved in recent years. But not a bit of it.
A new frontier has opened up: the need to address the whole issue of overcrowded classrooms - and no one would bet against the union making real progress.
In truth, very few were thinking about these bigger issues as the band played on and the night turned into day. Apparently, at 5am, the guitars were still being strummed and the craic was still up to 90 - or close to it.
The INTO and its conference delegates are like that. They like to work hard but trust me, they also play hard.