This is unusual for a political party’s annual conference.

Camera work is sometimes required at these gigs to camouflage poor attendance during lulls.

Today, in Sinn Féin, there is genuine enthusiasm and energy for politics.

They see the future in bright colours.

In terms of attendance at an annual conference, Sinn Féin goes where other parties today can only dream.

Much of this is down to its cross-border membership but whatever way you look at it, the party is on the march.

The only issue is when exactly they will arrive at the favoured destination north and south and merge the two entities into one glorious Republic, where all your dreams come through.

The location for the main event on the campus was the indoor running track.

The effect was cavernous, amplifying the sound, particularly applause, as if that was required.

Symbolically, the location chimed with the theme of limbering up for power.

Sinn Féin has come a long way from the days of socialist revolutionary rhetoric, but the irony remains beyond them.

This was obvious in an address on Saturday morning from TD Martin Kenny.

He was explaining how Fianna Fáil members had attended an event about Palestine which had taken place in Leinster House.

“They recognize where the people are and that’s where they move to,” Mr Kenny said.

The line sums up the Shinners current positioning.

They now espouse a form of left populism and have in recent years accelerated flight from territory they used to share with People Before Profit.

They know where the votes are and the most fertile hunting ground right now is housing.

The party’s guru on the subject Eoin Ó Broin probably has a greater command of the brief than any other housing opposition spokesperson in the history of the state.

That does not automatically infer that in Government he would make a massive difference, but it helps the electoral appeal.

In his address, Ó Broin pledged to bring affordable housing to the masses in a way that has been beyond the current administration.

He also promised to end homelessness among over 55s within a year of assuming office and in totality by 2030.

The measured pitch illustrates how Sinn Féin is tempering expectations.

There was, however, still room for a populist flourish from Mary Lou McDonald at the event with her ridiculous pledge to “fix housing once and for all”, as if it was a persistent leak that just required a good plumber.

Housing is where the voters are at but Sinn Féin’s core priority remains unity, first and foremost.

The voters will be promised what the voters want but only on the proviso that once in power, the party will relentlessly pursue a united Ireland above all else.

This priority is expressed with the greatest abandon when the audience is primarily the faithful.

“The moment for Irish unity is now and it (the current government) must catch up with the people,” frontbench spokeswoman Mairead Farrell told the gathering.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say many people felt comfortable about the prospect of a United Ireland but, as St Augustine might have put it, subscribe to the idea “make us one, Lord, but just not yet”.

Young people in general, for instance, profess far greater urgency in tackling the existential threat of climate change than reclaiming the fourth green field.

Yet among the faithful, you get the impression there is a feeling it would be a shame if the planet burned to a cinder, but once unity is achieved at least we’d all go down together, Gaelic and free.

The dissonance between the party’s priority and their primary pitch to the electorate, certainly south of the border, does give pause for reflection.

They have frontline politicians who can mix it with the best of them.

Their economic policies would mean change, but only moderate change, offering an alternative after three Fine Gael-led governments.

The case for that kind of change is strong, and arguably healthy in a democracy.

But does Sinn Féin have the same attitude adopted by other populist entities that have come to power in recent years — albeit mainly from the right rather than the left — who have shown contempt for democratic institutions and norms?

There is some evidence that they do in areas such as finances, the function of the media, and democratic structures within their own party, to name a few.

“We will deliver change,” Pearse Doherty told the ard fheis. “Because our party is different to all others. With Sinn Féin, what you see is what you get.”

The party is certainly different from others, but particularly in that many observers believe what you see is not what you get.

That probably won’t have any bearing on the next election, but it will interesting to see how it evolves if and when the party is in government.