Just prior to one o’clock, interim Ireland boss Eileen Gleeson stood on the side of the Aviva Stadium pitch with her assistants, adjacent to Uachtarán na h-Éireann Michael D Higgins, as tenor Lisa Lambe led the 36,000 crowd in a rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann.
The honour of scoring the first goal for the Girls in Green on Lansdowne Road fell to Lucy Quinn – unsurprisingly a grin was still on the Birmingham City player’s face when she spoke to the media after the 3-0 win over Northern Ireland.
Saturday’s game is essentially the start of qualification for the next major tournament. Having qualified and performed well at last summer’s World Cup, EURO 2025 is now on the horizon for the Irish squad under new temporary managment.