And there is a deeper British scepticism about Irish suggestions that just one more concession will provoke the long-awaited breakthrough on decommissioning.
Houllier's long-awaited return to Anfield was even more emotional, taking his seat in the dug-out for the first time since his illness in the Champions League qualifier against AS Roma last month.
Hosted by the French ambassador, the Duc de Nivernais, in one of Rome's more flamboyant palaces, Palazzo Farnese (which is still the French embassy today), these extravagant occasions celebrated the long-awaited birth of the French Dauphin's first son.