Now that the opening salvo of the Republic of Ireland's 2027 World Cup qualifiers is out of the way, thoughts are immediately turning to the start of the domestic season.
The 2026 SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division campaign gets underway next Saturday, 14 March.
But before that, it's the traditional curtain-raiser with this afternoon's 2pm kick-off at Athlone Town Stadium where last season's top two are reunited in the Women's President’s Cup.
Reigning double winners Athlone Town will be keen to lay down a marker on their own patch as they go in search of a third President's Cup win in four years.
Meanwhile, Shelbourne will be eyeing a repeat of last year when the Dubliners earned victory at Tolka Park.
Both clubs have undergone changes in personnel during the winter.
Athlone will have to replace the goals of Kelly Brady which is no mean feat.
Indeed, the last time the US-born Republic of Ireland call-up sported the black and blue jersey, she plundered a hat-trick in the thrilling Cup final win over Bohemians last October.
That haul brought the 24-year-old's overall tally to 27 goals in all competitions across a 2025 which also saw the Midlanders make a mark in Europe.
However, Brady has since signed for English side Crystal Palace. While she will be a big miss, Athlone manager John Sullivan - in his first full season in charge - is confident that the team can cope.
"Fantastic individual accolades. That helps any team," he said of Brady in a chat with RTÉ Sport at the recent League of Ireland launch.
"But we've brought in very, very good players this year and I strongly believe collectively we'll progress."
Dana Scheriff's return to the club will help to fill the void up front, having shone in her previous spell.
On top of that, Athlone have largely kept their double-winning squad intact beyond the notable exceptions of Brady and Kate Slevin who's lining out in a different code now for the Galway ladies' footballers.
For Shelbourne, it will be a strange sight to see veteran striker Noelle Murray within the Athlone ranks.
"We've had high profile players leave and I think the biggest one for us was seeing Noelle Murray being released," RTÉ soccer analyst and long-time Shels midfielder Rachel Graham said on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast.
"Even for me, personally, she's one of my best friends. I've played with her pretty much my whole League of Ireland career. So it was a big shock for me. I just didn't really see it coming and look, that's just the way it's going now.
"Budgets evolve, there's professional contracts involved and that's what Seán felt now, that 'this was the best chance for me to go and win a league and I had to unfortunately make some really hard decisions.'"
The aforementioned Seán Russell was appointed as Shelbourne head coach in November, succeeding Eoin Wearen.
The Dubliner's previous role saw him help Treaty United to make strides and thus far, Shelbourne captain Pearl Slattery has been impressed with his work behind the scenes at Tolka Park.
"It's been brilliant. Obviously we played against Seán last year, (at) Treaty. They were some of our most difficult games last year," she said at the LOI launch.
"At times when you're on the pitch, you'd hear managers giving information on and I know a lot of people around - women's football is very small - so I knew a lot of people who had worked with him (who were) very impressed.
"The last two or three weeks with him have been brilliant. He has his own style, his own approach and his own way in how he wants to do things. So I think we'll look different this year and I think it'll be great."
Russell will at least be able to call upon both Slattery and Graham - two of the most experienced names in the game.
And aside from new arrivals like Becky Watkins and Emily Kraft, it's a returning old face that's also exciting the Shels squad.
"We've got Maggie Pierce back in the league," said Graham.
"Maggie when she was here before was for me one of the best players in the league and she's come back in.
"It's been seamless. It's been like she never left. But even for her, obviously she's a great signing for us. But in terms of the league, Maggie left us and went to play professional in America and after one year she said, 'Actually, I prefer playing in the League of Ireland'.
"So that's a huge signing for us but I think for the league as whole, it just shows how appealing it is to actually play here and sometimes the grass isn't always greener on the other side and you'll probably see that now in Dana Scheriff coming back to Athlone.
"They've lost Kelly Brady, who was a huge player, golden boot and all that, and I think Dana Scheriff is every bit as good as Kelly Brady, so I don't think they'll miss her too much."
So with both Athlone and Shelbourne looking strong despite their respective changes, it whets the appetite for a blockbuster clash as the rivals seek momentum for a title battle through the year to come.
