THE signs on the newly decorated front of Mulligans pub in Poolbeg Street, Dublin, were specially designed for the occasion. "Rhybudd! Paent Gwlyb" the stern admonition declared.
For members of the minority community there was a translation which warned us: "Caution! Wet Paint." However, no warning notice as to the presence of peint fliuch was in evidence.
Those who were unaware that yesterday was St David's Day and that almost 25,000 Welsh supporters had hit town for the "big match" could be described in another language - the American language - as "observationally challenged".
Small dark men and large dark men - even the odd woman - strode the streets wearing daffodils to proclaim their nationality on their national day.
Aer Rianta counted 10,000 them in and will have to count 10,000 of them out from Dublin Airport in more than 40 charter flights.
Stena-Sealink delivered 6,000 and Irish Ferries was involved in the conveyance of a similar number.
The numbers of Welsh supporters who came from London, Birmingham and Bristol have yet to be determined. What is certain is that the ticket allocation of 8,500 to the followers of the daffodil, the leek and the dragon means that up to two-thirds of those who travelled will probably have to watch the "big match" on the large screens provided by some Dublin hostelries.
These hostelries, it would appear, are precisely what attracted so many supporters from across the channel.
The "big match" is not really a "big match" by any stretch of the imagination. The event which fits that particular description will take place in Murrayfield where England play the grand-slam hopefuls, Scotland
The former Welsh international Gerald Davies, writing in the columns of the London Times, put the Lansdowne Road clash and the presence of so many Welsh supporters into their proper perspectives.
"The fixture," he wrote, "has its idiosyncratic attractions, but for the large majority of those who remain ticketless it is not the main attraction. Those who are wise understand only too well that it is Dublin itself that is the greatest treasure."
Another notable Welshman, the EU transport commissioner, Mr Neil Kinnock, expressed similar views at a lunch in Dublin yesterday, adding that he hoped the daffodils on display on the tables had not come from England.
Nice to know that EU commissioners are thoroughly European and do not favour one country over another.
