Sean Maguire knows what it feels like to score a winner at the Aviva Stadium.
He knows what it feels like to send a mass of green-clad supporters into raptures at that ground and he knows he wants to feel it again.
Eleven months ago, after 120 minutes of dogged warfare, the Kilkenny man swivelled on a long Stephen Beattie throw into the Dundalk box and steered a dribbly, half-hit effort through the legs of Brian Gartland and into the bottom corner. Cork City won the FAI Cup. And after that, Maguire hit another plane.
His astonishing form in the following campaign turned heads across the water and a move to Preston North End came in July. Still his star keeps rising.
Simon Grayson signed him before moving from Deepdale to Sunderland, but new boss Alex Neill took to Maguire straight away and has openly praised how well he's adapted to life in the Championship.
There's long been a clamour for his inclusion in the Irish setup but where before Martin O'Neill talked of Maguire as being one for the future, a raw talent not quite ready for the cut-throat, high-octane hustle and bustle of international football, now there's a feeling his time has come. With the stakes higher than ever, O'Neill may well roll the dice.
"I don't see why not," the manager replied when asked if the striker has a genuine chance of featuring in the World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Wales.
"You talk about risk and reward, I've done it before. I'll have a look, we'll see how the next couple of days go.
"Generally speaking, if I know the players pretty well then the couple of days training beforehand is not a major concern. But if I don't and I think there's a possibility of someone playing then the couple of days training becomes pretty important for me in terms of having a look."
"We were having a bite to eat this morning and you see the players you've been looking up to for so long."
In other words, make my mind up for me. Show me you're ready.
That's not easy in such a short camp alongside seasoned, confident internationals but Maguire doesn't look like a player easily fazed. He believes he is ready, and if he stands out in training this week, he could, at the very least, plant a seed.
"I've been dreaming (of playing for Ireland) since I was four or five years of age," the 23-year-old said.
"It was pretty surreal coming in. We were having a bite to eat this morning and you see the players you've been looking up to for so long.
"Shane Long is a player I've idolised from a very young age. He's a player I've looked up to in every way.
"It's going to be a good experience. It's something that I'll relish."
Maguire has been utilised in a wider berth by Neill, with the more physically imposing Jordan Hugill leading the line.
He's flourished there, and with every good performance has come another flush of confidence and self-belief.
"It's a bit different to the League of Ireland, physically and mentally, especially playing out wide," he added on Monday.
"You need to be concentrated for all of the game because you're defending for 50% of the time.
"I'm really enjoying it. My decision making has improved a lot. I feel in the last few months I've improved my game. If the opportunity arises for myself or Scott (Hogan) to step up and play on Friday, I feel we'll be more than ready."
We don't know how Ireland's final two games are going to pan out, but it's extremely likely that at some stage O'Neill is going to have to make a big decision.
His team are hardly prolific scorers; Jon Walters' injury has shorn them of another attacking weapon and they can expect Moldova to park the bus at the Aviva Stadium and make life as difficult as they did for the Welsh last month.
Then, Chris Coleman needed the dynamism of 17-year-old wonderkid Ben Woodburn to pick the lock, his driving run and cross allowing Hal Robson-Kanu to finally open the scoring with ten minutes to go.
Woodburn was the difference against Austria too, and if O'Neill is serious about the merits of "risk and reward", he'll put his money where his mouth is if the plan goes awry on Friday night.
If he starts with Daryl Murphy and Shane Long up top and the Moldovans hold out, he'll turn to his bench and see three options: Maguire, Hogan and Millwall man Aiden O'Brien.
Only one of them has found the net at Lansdowne Road before.
That dream may finally come true.
