All going to plan, next June's local and European elections (and that of the Limerick Mayor) will see 15 months in which every type of Irish election possible will be held. The stakes and the scrutiny on Leo Varadkar's leadership have never been higher. But if this event was to be a rallying cry, the results were mixed for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the party has been in government for 12 years and controls or shares control of many councils across the country. It is hard to make any promises or produce grand plans when you actually have the reins. Fine Gael prides itself on its pragmatism, but pragmatism doesn't fire up the masses. Nobody ever ran through a wall for necessary but boring infrastructure.

Secondly, the structure of the day was somewhat low-key. It was not, Fine Gael members and staff stressed, an Árd Fheis and as such did not come with chest-beating speeches aired on prime-time TV. It wasn't even in a venue that you would associate with such a day, the Glenroyal being smaller and more shared than TUS, where last year's Árd Fheis took place. So, in place of the flash came worthy conversations on the party's structures, on how it elects leaders, and on farming. Only once, however, did any of the audiences seem like a party ready to go fight elections.

As he closed a session on safer communities, Further Education Minister Simon Harris received a spontaneous standing ovation from about a third of the room as he rounded on Sinn Féin.

“For those who keep on writing articles about this party being tired, or too long in government: we’ve never been more energised.

“The populists are at the gates of government in this country and we are not going to let them in,” he exhorted.

Around the event, Mr Varadkar looked more relaxed than he did last year, reflecting a renewed vigour for the party leadership role which has been noted by TDs and senators, but the questions and answers session with cabinet members to close the day was somewhat flat.

 First, a slick video of the party's achievements in office cut out, leaving the room in complete darkness, while Mr Varadkar's Árd Fheis speech from last year blared out and then the questions focused less on the party's ambitions and more on granular policy — one member asked about stamp duty anomalies.

Mr Varadkar's final answer of the evening was a rallying cry against Sinn Féin, which seemed to put some of the pep back into the room. They would, he said, alienate Irish allies and make people worse off.

Mr Varadkar has stepped up his criticism of Mary Lou McDonald's party in recent weeks — his accusations of "hectoring" during last Wednesday's Leaders' Questions for example.

But as one member asked afterwards — is that enough to fight a year of elections on?