The PA played Bagatelle's old hit about remembering that summer in Dublin, when the Liffey it stank like hell. And Shelbourne fans will remember this summer in Dublin for a while, even if it ends - as the experts fear it might - with a bad case of sunburn in Spain in two weeks' time. For the moment, the fun continues.
A huge pay-night at Lansdowne Road, the rare compliment of ticket touts scalping the supporters of a National League team, and a 0-0 thrashing of one of Europe's greats. It was from La Coruna that the Spanish Armada sailed, and the subsequent misfortune seems to have curbed Galicia's enthusiasm for foreign travel. A total of eight or 20 Deportivo fans made the trip to Dublin, depending on which account you believed. Either way, they would have had to be a chamber choir to make themselves heard above the 24,000 Shelbourne supporters, many of them on loan from other Eircom League clubs, but holding nothing back.
Next to the Spaniards, probably the longest travelling supporter in the grounds was Bertie Ahern, who broke his holidays Kerry for the occasion. "He must have nothing to do if he's here," muttered an uncharitable match steward as the State car swept in off Northumberland Road. But Drumcondra people stick together in a crisis, and Northside solidarity was all the more vital for a trip into the alien territory of Dublin 4.
In fact, of course, this was a homecoming for Shelbourne, a club born in Ringsend in 1895. And the return was a reminder of its glory days, with an attendance to match.
It was a crowd of two halves: one half in the East Stand, and the other in the West. With the terraces empty because of UEFA rules on seating, the fans were not in a position to get behind Shelbourne - physically at least - at any stage of the game. Supporters were also further away from the players than usual, thanks to the "home" team's canny decision to narrow the pitch and clip Deportivo's wings.
But the fans made up for their displacement with noise levels that provoked a few nervous touches from the Spanish sophisticates. Shelbourne were never embarrassed in the company of a team that thrashed AC Milan 4-0 last spring. The few visitors rarely had reason to make themselves heard, even if they could.