The pomp and ceremony that accompanied US President Joe Biden's visit to Leinster House this week led to a jovial atmosphere within the corridors of power.
Political differences were cast aside, as politicians joined together to give a warm welcome to one of the most Irish of US presidents.
His speech covered a range of different topics, with endless praise for a country he said felt like "home".
However, among the platitudes were what some politicians saw as a gentle nudge for Ireland to consider its security position in a changing world.
During his 30-minute address, he quoted a speech from President John F Kennedy to the Dáil in 1963: "Ireland pursues an independent course in foreign policy, but it is not neutral between liberty and tyranny, and it never will be."
Sixty years on from when those words were first spoken, they aptly describe Ireland's foreign policy position today.
However, President Biden also told members in his address that "democracy and autocracy, it is a competition that's real".
With war raging on the continent of Europe, Ireland's neutrality has come under increased scrutiny, both from outside and within.
Politicians like Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit, a party which boycotted the address in protest over US foreign policy, believes that the address and overall visit to Ireland was "undoubtedly" about trying to nudge Ireland towards closer alignment with US foreign policy and NATO.
Richard Boyd Barrett argues that Ireland's neutral position over the years has facilitated the growth of its diplomatic strength across the world.
The US president acknowledged this diplomatic power himself.
"Ireland's support for Ukraine is especially meaningful, because you carry the moral authority with nations around the world," he told the packed chamber.
"You know the price of war," he later said.
Not everyone in the chamber, during that historic address, detected a cryptic message from Joe Biden.
Fianna Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne, who has taken a keen interest in technological advancement, was of the opinion that President Biden was simply speaking about closer co-operation on matters such as technology and climate change.
Senator Byrne does, however, believe that the time has come to have a conversation about Ireland's security and defence policy.
He fears, like many other politicians in Leinster House, that Ireland's current position on these matters leaves the country vulnerable and dependent on others.
A National Forum on Ireland's international security policy is due to begin in June. It was initiated by Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin, who has said that it is not just looking at the topic of neutrality, but rather a broad spectrum of security matters.
Three meetings will take place in Cork, Galway and Dublin across four days. The discussions will hear from security experts, academics and the public. It will examine security policy options and what any changes would mean for Ireland's neutrality.
However, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has previously said that the forum will not result in Ireland joining NATO.
Speaking after Joe Biden's address to the Oireachtas this week, Micheál Martin said that Ireland was very much aligned to the values system of the western world, but that in the face of future cyber security threats and hybrid warfare "we have to be intelligent about that ... and I think it's important that we have a national conversation about that".
'Inflection point'
Indeed, Joe Biden himself spoke at length about his concerns for the future, telling the Dáil and Seanad that the world was at an "inflection point".
"Look what's happening with artificial intelligence right now. It holds enormous promise and enormous concern," he said.
He recalled a conversation that he once had with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who had asked Joe Biden to define America in one word, Mr Biden responded with the word, "possibility".
The 46th US president told Irish politicians that the same word could be used to describe Ireland.
In the context of shared values, and in a forceful manner, he told the Oireachtas members: "This is about defending the values handed down to us by our ancestors, keeping the flame of freedom we inherited, the beacon that's going to guide our children and our grandchildren, it's a struggle we're fit to fight together."
By speaking about the future and the threats it may bring, President Biden hit a nerve whether intentionally or not.
The security and defence landscape may be changing.
How Ireland adapts to those changes is a sensitive debate that will likely draw strong feelings and opinions from many corners.
