Preview: As another storm fades, Ireland eye history

After another exhausting week of drama, the Republic of Ireland will make history on Saturday when they walk out in front of over 38,000 supporters to take on Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.

It's the first clash of the inaugural women's UEFA Nations League, a competition that feeds directly into qualification for the 2025 Euros.

In the simplest terms, if the Girls in Green win their four-team group (which also includes Albania and Hungary), they will be promoted to League A for next spring's qualifiers. That would guarantee them, at a minimum, a place in the play-offs, in which they'd face one of the lower seeds.

How the UEFA Women's Nations League impacts Ireland's Euro 2025 hopes

But all that's for another day. Right now the focus is on a historic meeting with the North.

No Ireland women's football team has ever played a fixture at the Lansdowne Road venue, though 'Goose' Doyle's rugby charges did hammer Italy there in a Six Nations encounter back in 2014. That was a double-header with the men's fixture against the same opponents. Today is a little different.

It stands alone, all by itself, as an occasion of real significance; yet more tangible evidence of the remarkable growth of the women's game in this country over the last three years in particular.

"There's been a number of milestones," reflected interim boss Eileen Gleeson.

"We had the introduction of the Women’s National League, we’ve seen that expand down through the youth levels. We’ve seen this year the introduction of professional contracts into the league, we’ve seen clubs add resources, we’ve seen criteria for coaches to be better around the women’s game.

"Does it still need work? Absolutely, but it’s moving in the right direction. I think as the