A glance at the world rankings shows the scale of the achievement of the Irish team in reaching the knockout stages of the Women's Hockey World Cup.
They are the lowest ranked side remaining (16th), but the pool stages showed that Graham Shaw’s side care little for reputation.
The United States, seventh in the world, were dispatched in the opening game, while vice-captain Anna O’Flanagan’s goal put paid to India (10th) and secured a quarter-final berth.
A late goal from England – second in the world rankings - after converting their 14th penalty corner failed to knock the Green Machine off top spot in Pool B.
Assistant coach Arlene Boyles is rightly proud of the "amazing achievement", but the time for real reflection will be post-tournament. Now the focus is on carrying on the momentum for a second tilt at India later today (live coverage on RTÉ2 from 5.45pm).
"The targets have been smashed," she told RTÉ Sport. "The biggest question we asked the girls was what do they want from the World Cup? That’s not set by management, that’s set by them.
"They are a self-driven group and fully aware of the effort that must go in order to be successful.
"The biggest thing from a management perspective was to come out of the group stages. We did that in spades. To secure that win against India to qualify for the quarter-finals with the luxury of a game to spare was above where we thought we would be.
"The players have smiled their way through the competition and that won’t change tomorrow"
"We would be lying if we said otherwise, bearing in mind who was in the group.
"Now we have different goals. The enjoyment has not changed though, and that is what keeps these girls going. They have smiled their way through the competition and that won’t change tomorrow."
The squad were given a down-day following the concluding pool match, before returning to gym work and attending the decisive India and Italy group game on Tuesday evening.
It was back onto the training pitch today to go through technical aspects of their game, but extended time together in camp isn’t anything new to the squad.
Last July, they spent three weeks together in Johannesburg, while preparation for the World Cup included a week in Cork.
A glance at the other federations' set-up could lead to a degree of envy within the Irish camp. Fellow quarter-finalists Australia, Netherlands, England and Argentina are on full-time programmes.
Megan Frazer (below) and Nikki Evans play in Germany, Anna O’Flanagan and Chloe Wakins ply their trade in the Netherlands, while Ayeisha McFerran is on a scholarship in the United States. The remainder of the squad are students or in employment, which does impact the scheduling of training camps.
Player levies of €550 were done away with last year, but the contrast is stark with some of their fellow competitors. England, for example, have 40 full-time players on central contracts bolstered by funding of more than €19m for the four-year Olympic cycle up to Tokyo 2020.
"Could there be more funding? Of course, but there could be more funding for many sports in Ireland"
Tournaments often occur during the summer months so students face less disruption, while Boyles credits "understanding employers" who make allowances on the demands on their hockey employees. Holidays are hoovered up to pull on the green jersey, while unpaid leave is used by some to maximise preparation.
Boyles is philosophical on the financial impact on the game.
"It’s very difficult to say how much money adds to the level you can reach. Contact time is a huge thing in hockey, especially in an international set-up.
"We are probably a long way off professional sport in Ireland. Could there be more funding? Of course, but there could be more funding for many sports in Ireland."
"It’s about finding the balance that suits the nation. At the moment we are doing well with what we have."
Boyles was part of the last Irish hockey team that competed in the 2002 World Cup, claiming six of the eight goals scored in Australia. The step-up in class, however, was evident as they failed to pick up a win in a seven-game group.
The game and rules may have changed considerably since then, but the assistant coach says they are cherished memories.
"The whole idea doesn’t change. You are there with a group of friends, some of your best friends by that stage, playing the sport you love. The group now are fully aware of where they are, like we were in 2002.
"They are memories you keep for life."
Former Ireland rugby international Gary Longwell has been working with the team as a Performance Skills Coach for a number of years and Boyles says tapping into the sports psychology aspect has been significant in improving both the collective and individual resilience.
There have been raised eyebrows from the outside at the level of progress, though the belief has been growing steadily inside the dressing room.
"The big thing for us was to start playing our hockey on the world stage. We knew how good we could be and we knew how well prepared we were going into the tournament. We just wanted people to say that we look like a top-10 team."
Overwhelmed and so appreciative of all of the support coming our way from back home ☘️ spending our evening watching Italy vs India in the qualifier for our Quarter Final match on Thursday night #HWC2018 #GreenArmy #ChaseIt #HappyHeads pic.twitter.com/fI7jeowptO
— Green Army (@IreWomenHockey) July 31, 2018
The growing interest back home is filtering through to the team – "you are in the realms of 19, 20 and 21-year-olds, they don’t have their phones very far away from them" and the fact the match will be televised live on RTÉ is "massive".
They expect India to be organised and disciplined like they were in the pool stages, but after that 1-0 victory, there will be no fear.
"The girls want to make history. They want to be role models. They want to let people know how important this is to them"
Management are keen to strike the balance between enjoying the moment and keeping feet on the ground, but know that further history beckons.
"Who is to say we can’t go the whole way? We have gone over and beyond where we thought we possibly could if we are being honest. Now that we are here, we are thinking, ‘wow, what an opportunity’".
"The group of girls we have here, they want to make history. They want to be role models. They want to let people know how important this is to them. I think they are showing that in the way they play and in the way they conduct themselves off the pitch.
"The big thing is now that we are on the big stage, we must stay here. It’s a great foundation. We can’t let this slip.
"It can’t be, ‘oh do you remember the Irish team of 2002 or the team of 2018?’. We must build on this."
Follow Ireland v India via the live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the News Now App. Live coverage of Ireland v India from 5.45pm on RTÉ2 (push back at 6pm), with Peter Collins is joined by Kate Dillon and Lisa Jacob in studio, with commentary from Ger Canning and Sarah Scott
