When it comes to pressing the flesh, the Taoiseach is among the best. But yesterday he met his match - on his home turf and all - when Tony Blair turned on the charm.
The two supermen of schmoozing took a half-hour walkabout in the heart of Ahern country, Drumcondra. Mr Blair wore his hand out greeting the 200strong crowd, his trademark grin never wavering.
"It's a wonderful place," Mr Blair declared when asked what he thought of Drumcondra. "And they have got the right representative." Mr Ahern had sent a circular to the locals the previous night asking them to come out in force "to give Prime Minister Blair a warm Drumcondra welcome".
They didn't disappoint and flocked to the local supermarket on Drumcondra Road, a former landmark as "The Drummer" cinema. Locals recalled that Mr Ahern, as a child, used to be among those who made the "fourpenny rush" into the old cinema. It was a similar scene yesterday when he had to fight his way past the crowds with his date, Mr Blair, in tow.
The two heads of government were then joined by their partners, Ms Celia Larkin and Ms Cherie Blair, who had co-ordinated their winter wear well, both with faux fur trimmings - the former on her collar, the latter on her hat.
Maureen Lawlor was promising never to wash her face again after getting a kiss on each cheek from the prime minister. "I can still feel his lips," she said.
Violet O Dulaing, principal of the local Corpus Christi School, was trying to organise her pupils. "They'll remember this day a lot better than they remember their long division," she said. The girls were thinking of starting a couple of chants like "Go Tony", but that gave way to wild screaming when Mr Blair finally emerged.
Across the street, the boys from Bertie's primary school, St Pat's, did a better job with a few rounds of "Ooh-Ahh Tony Blair". He couldn't resist crossing over to thank them.
