Ireland's soccer supporters just can't be stopped from following their team.
Neither exorbitant travelling costs nor difficulties in obtaining tickets, not even rumours of impending earthquakes and typhoons - not to mention possible disasters of a footballing nature - can deter them from jetting off to South Korea for Sunday's clash with Spain.
Up to 250 people are travelling to Suwon under package tours costing between €2,100 and €2,900 for each person, a price which in most cases excludes match tickets which have proved impossible to purchase from home.
At least another 500 are travelling out on their own bat, according to travel agents, while about 1,000 fans who went to Japan under package tours for Ireland's group games have chosen to stay in the region to continue following the team.
Among those flying out yesterday was Mr Ricky Keane from Dingle, Co Kerry, who was in Giants Stadium in New Jersey eight years ago for Ireland's previous biggest footballing moment. "This is a great opportunity - to go to a strange country and hopefully see a great game," he said.
His only regret was that he would miss Saturday's Munster Gaelic football semi-final between his home county and Cork.
One of his travelling companions, Mr Jimmy Banbury, had similar split loyalties. When asked whom he thought would win this weekend, he replied without a hint of irony: "Oh! I have complete confidence in Kerry."
Travelling in the opposite direction were several groups of fans who had spent the past fortnight in Japan. "Obviously, we'd love to be out there still but we had to come home and earn a bit of money," said Mr Robert Simpson, from Castleknock, Dublin.
"We had a brilliant time. The people were wonderful. They'd great respect for each other and, of course, they loved the Irish. I'd never seen so many people in green and half of them were Japanese."
Along with two friends, he used to dress up each day in Tricoloured kimonos and Japanese wigs, something which turned them into mini-celebrities in Tokyo.
"It took us about two hours to get dressed," said one member of the group, Mr Peter Smyth from Blanchardstown.
"And about five hours to get undressed," Mr Simpson added.
As for the living conditions, the trio were full of praise for Japanese efficiency and cleanliness. "You could eat your dinner off the train floor," said Mr Declan Halpin, also from Castleknock, who along with the other two plans to watch the Spanish game in the somewhat less exotic setting of the Wren's Nest pub in Chapelizod.
Those jetting off to South Korea yesterday included the first troop of 90 fans booked through Slattery Travel. Company owner Mr David Slattery noted that while tickets could not be purchased from Ireland, "our people in Seoul tell us that they're still available at the normal published price".
The only people guaranteed match tickets for Sunday are those who, optimistically, paid up front last February on the expectation that Ireland would qualify. The footballing governing body FIFA chose to distribute tickets by this means, saying it would refund people whose teams failed to qualify after the competition.
Ray Treacy Travel said two of its customers had ambitiously ordered Irish tickets up to the semi-finals.
It added that half of the 400 people it flew out to Japan for the group games had chosen to forfeit their return flights by travelling on to South Korea.
Meanwhile, United Travel announced details yesterday of a two-night package deal for Sunday's game, costing €1,690 for each person.
The agency has already booked almost 100 people on an extended package tour to South Korea.
