The long wait is over for the 80,000 fans of U2 who will travel to Slane today for the first of the band's two concerts on home soil since 1997.
Behind the scenes, staff of concert promoters MCD have been working for days to transform a meadow on the banks of the Boyne into a giant stadium for the event.
Hundreds of truckloads of equipment have had to be brought to the Slane Castle site, from seating and fencing to technical gear and portable toilets, said to number 500.
The good news from Met Eireann for concert-goers is that it should be a dry day with hazy sunshine and temperatures very pleasant at 19 to 20 degrees.
Meteorologist Mr Gerry Scully said winds would be very light, which would be "a huge plus for the acoustics".
The gates open at 11 a.m., and the concert starts at 12.30 p.m., but U2 aren't expected on stage until after 8 p.m. There will be no access to Slane before 11 a.m., and MCD says only ticket-holders will be allowed past the barriers.
Those ticket-holders will include, incidentally, two fanatical U2 fans who drove all the way from Slovenia for the concert. The two turned up in their 28-year-old car at Windmill Lane Pictures in Dublin at 11 a.m. yesterday.
Management who had bought 100 tickets for staff to attend the concert had two left over and presented them to a delighted Mr Klemen Vidic and Mr Damjan Rovsek.
Meanwhile, those travelling to the concert have been advised to use public transport or private coaches. Dublin Bus is providing 200 buses, departing every 20 minutes from O'Connell Street between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and returning immediately after the event.
Motorists are advised by the AA to consult signs on the approach roads to Slane Castle for directions. There will be no access to Slane village, except for residents, until 3 a.m. tomorrow.
No roadside parking will be allowed near the main concert site, but the AA says ample parking is available on all approach roads into Slane. Yesterday Supt Eamon Courtney of Navan said troublemakers would be taken before a special court, which would sit all day if necessary.
Special steps had been taken to prevent fans trying to enter the arena by crossing the Boyne, which has claimed a number of lives during previous concerts. Up to 100 personnel with boats, jet skis and diving gear will be on standby on the river banks.
"Our advice is don't enter the water. You won't get across, and you're only putting unnecessary risk on yourself and others who may attempt to save you," he said.
Garda Fraud Squad members and undercover detectives would be on duty to ensure nobody got in with counterfeit tickets.
Meanwhile Meath County Council's major emergency plan is ready to respond should it be needed over the weekend. A special emergency control unit on the concert site will be operated full-time by council staff, including senior fire services and civil defence personnel.
A full-time fire crew will be on site all day. Back-up arrangements are in place at seven other fire stations.