Sinn Féin's annual Ard Fheis is underway in Derry - only the second time it has taken place in the North.
Over 2,000 delegates are expected for the two-day event, which will culminate in a live TV address by party leader Gerry Adams tomorrow evening.
The party will debate motions on 2016, the national flag, coalition governments, election strategy and abortion over the course of the two-day debate.
This evening, Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has said he wants Sinn Féin to be the biggest party on both sides of the border by the time of Easter 2016.
This refers not only to the elections in the Republic due some time early next year, but also the elections to Stormont in May 2016 and the Westminster elections this coming May.
Arriving the Ard Fheis, Gerry Adams played down newspaper reports that the party's American donors have raised concerns about its tax policies.
It was reported today that Irish-American businesses are concerned at the party's policies on taxes and government spending.
But Gerry Adams says he holds similar meetings with groups of all sorts - and that the only people who decide Sinn Féín policy are Sinn Féin members:
