The exodus of fans by air, road, rail and sea was well under way last night for Munster's clash with Northampton in the European Rugby Championship final at Twickenham tomorrow.
Many people began their journey from Cork and Limerick to London yesterday. And this morning will see the first of today's eight charters depart for the big game. All the scheduled flights have been booked solid for some time.
The Munster squad left Shannon for London yesterday and according to the duty office at the airport there was "a mighty buzz". as the first of 17 charter flights carrying 3,000 people to the game prepared to leave.
As well as the charters, all the scheduled services from Shannon, including Aer Lingus, Ryanair, Virgin Express and British Airways, were booked out bringing fans to various London airports. "If they win, it will be like an All-Ireland homecoming on Saturday evening," one duty officer said. Hundreds of other fans from around Munster have been making their way to Dublin to catch London connections via ferry and plane as the moment of truth grows nearer.
However, in the middle of the euphoria yesterday another Ireland rugby great, Moss Finn, warned that the team could not afford to be caught up in all the hype.
Stena Line said 5,000 Munster supporters were travelling on its Dublin and Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead and Rosslare to Fishguard routes.
The match is a sell-out too for Cork-Swansea Ferries. This morning, accompanied by music on board, some 1,200 fans will cross to Swansea and make their way by coach, train and car to London.
"We are planning a real Munster occasion on board, everyone is looking forward to the game," a ferry company spokesman said.
The round ball might be more synonymous with Kerry, but not this weekend as the mighty Mick Galwey leads Munster in pursuit of the Heineken European Cup. Rugby fever is gripping Kerry every bit as much as any other part of Ireland as the mass exodus of expectant fans gets under way in earnest today.
In the small village of Currow near Farranfore Airport in Co Kerry, however, there is a special affinity with the game because three sons of the area have made a lasting mark on Irish rugby. They are Mick Galwey, Moss Keane and Mick Doyle.
Despite Currow's rugby pedigree though, members of local rugby clubs and other supporters have found it impossible to charter special flights out of Farranfore - availability of aircraft has been snapped up by Cork and Limerick fans. So up to 1,000 Kerry hopefuls have been resorting to scheduled flights from Farranfore and many others have been making their way to Cork and Limerick or the ferry terminals.
As Munster ground their way through the tournament, defeating the best as they went, rugby hopes in the province have been growing accordingly.
Never has there been such a scramble for match tickets, ferry berths or aircraft seats. From this morning until the last possible moment tomorrow thousands of people will be heading for Twickenham in festive mood.
Not only fans from all over Munster, but fans from all other corners of Ireland will congregate in Twickenham tomorrow to give the boys in red a resounding welcome when they run on to the famous turf.