Jim Crawford, like the rest of the country, had a pep in his step on Monday morning.
The Republic of Ireland Under-21s boss was still euphoric after watching Troy Parrott earn the seniors a place in the World Cup play-offs with an iconic 96th-minute winner in Hungary.
But Crawford had more reason than most to be proud of the 23-year-old Dubliner.
Nearly five years ago, Parrott found sanctuary under Crawford's guidance during a tricky spell in his career.
The Dubliner went to Totteham as arguably the most hyped Irish teenager since Robbie Keane, but in January 2021 he was struggling for form and fitness on loan at Millwall. Crawford publicly backed the attacker at the time, insisting: "He is a fantastic talent, an unbelievable finisher, but he's still a young boy. We've got to give him time."
Now Parrott - plying his trade at AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands - is the toast of the country.
A brace against Portugal was followed by a dream hat-trick in Budapest, his feats thrilling the current Ireland Under-21s squad who watched the game before starting preparations for their UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Andorra this evening.
"We were training and we got back here in the hotel for most of the game, but it was just unbelievable," said Crawford.
"Troy's had a hell of a journey at the minute for somebody so young. I think it said it all in his interview at the end, how emotional he was, what it means to him to play for Ireland.
"Obviously we had a brief stint with him with the 21s, and he was injured at Millwall. I just asked the question to Troy, 'would you want to come over and play?' Because he hadn't really kicked a ball at Millwall through injuries, and he said 'yeah, I want to come out and play for my country'.
"I think he's had a different type of journey, and you could say that various loans didn't work out, he was with his Millwall, Ipswich, he was up in Preston. But they're all learning opportunities for Troy.
"They're all opportunities to thicken his skin, get a lot more resilient, bring him back to earth, where sometimes when you're stuck in a Premiership academy where it's top-notch facilities and everything is done for you, and then you go to clubs like that, it gives you a little bit of the grounding that there's a lot more work here to be done in my career.
"And that's where you need character. That's where you need resilience. And he's got that in abundance. That comes from his upbringing, the people that support him.
"We're all just immensely proud of Troy. I think it's only a start for him."
There's other rising stars in the underage ranks who will take a lot from Parrott's achievements.
There is an obvious comparison to Mason Melia, who links up with Tottenham in January, while 17-year-old Shamrock Rovers attacker Michael Noonan is another one turning heads.
Noonan was the match winner against Andorra in Tallaght last September. Today, he's in Qatar aiming to fire the Ireland Under-17s past Switzerland in the last 16 of the World Cup.
"Michael's been excellent," added Crawford. "But it doesn't surprise me because he's able to operate at an Under-21 level comfortably. The decision on him going to the World Cup I think is a good one for his own development, his own experience that he can draw on at some stage in his career.
"We've seen his goals that he scored for the 17s and I know his attitude and his character is quite similar to Troy. He's a very focused individual, wants to get better, works extremely hard in the game. He's a boy with enormous potential. But like everything else, he's got a good support network around him."
Ireland performed well in a 2-0 defeat to England in Birmingham last Friday, but the Andorrans will be a tough nut to crack.
Crawford - who has no fresh injury concerns - is desperate for three points in Ireland's final game of the year.
"They gave us a decent game in Tallaght. They gave England a decent game in Pride Park in Derby. So, you know, they're a good team, a well-organised team. They know their strengths and it's really about us now being ready, physically ready, mentally ready before the game.
"They'll stop counter-attacks by silly fouls and they'll slow the game down, that's what they do and they do it well. But it's up to us to counteract that."
Watch Republic of Ireland v Switzerland in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup on Tuesday from 2.30pm on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport.
Watch Andorra v Republic of Ireland in UEFA Under-21 European Championship qualifying on Tuesday from 6pm on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player.
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