Excitement is mounting as the countdown to Ireland's opening game in the Euro 2012 Championship in Poland gets underway.
It's 24 years since we last qualified for the Euros, and while we had three World Cup competitions in the meantime, the last of those was ten years ago.
Ireland's good performance in Germany in 1988, particularly their memorable game against England, gave the nation a welcome boost.
Interesting, we were in the midst of a recession during that competition so hopefully the coming weeks will give us something to cheer about once more.