Don't sound the trumpets just yet, but check the reed and make sure they are in tune and standing by. There are reasons to be cheerful. Parts One and Two: Ireland beat Croatia on Saturday. Roy Keane is back.

The first was contingent perhaps on the second. Keane was back in his glory on Saturday, marauding like an old-time pirate and making passes like a modern American president. He scored the goal which put the game out of Croatia's reach. He manned the barricades thereafter. They gave him the man of the match award.

In Lansdowne Road on Saturday fantasy at last solidified into something tangible for the Irish team. Their last competitive outing on a weather-cracked night in Brussels saw them miss out on the World Cup for want of a goal. On Saturday, the Croatians, who cavorted ingeniously through the entire length of that World Cup, were dispatched with such knowing confidence by a young Irish side that they were reduced to frustrated cynicism by the end of the day.

There was more than that to enjoy though. The return of something resembling life to Lansdowne Road after so many games when the silence was so oppressive that you could hear a player's morale drop was a welcome development. The crumbling heap of a stadium can still whip up a big occasion when the need calls.

And there will be big occasions. Ireland now stand at a crossroads of possibility. Having beaten the best team in European Qualifying Group Eight they must retain their concentration and nurture their confidence before their next assignment in a month's time, or they can live off the back of one famous victory.

The hunch is that they will opt for progress. They have been whipped and excoriated for too long since the departure of Jack Charlton that on this weekend they looked ravenous for a new future.

Indeed, briefly on Saturday, the daydream of Ireland running amok lingered in the Lansdowne imagination. Two early goals and a brusque combativeness in the centre of midfield gave Ireland an unlikely springboard.

Suddenly, the cocktail of experience and youth looked intoxicating. Damien Duff, possibly the best of the golden horde of youngsters, hadn't established a telepathic relationship with Steve Staunton behind him, but he had been fouled enough times to suggest that he was worrying the Croatian defence.

Ditto the spring-heeled Robbie Keane, whose anonymity during the hectic opening stages faded as he contributed a number of sure and skilful touches. Mark Kinsella, in midfield, was as self assured as a veteran and Keith O'Neill was doing what sadly he does best these days, watching from the bench while nursing an injury.

The constabulary of the defence was brisk and robust about its business, even if Phil Babb mislaid his concentration a few times. Denis Irwin in particular performed his hazardous business with routine efficiency.

The team inhaled it's new confidence. Still the game revolved around Roy Keane.

This is a team in it's footballing adolescence, precocious and unpredictable. Keane though is just past that stage in life. His tackles are still shudderingly harsh and his face still steams up but his authority on Saturday awesome.

McCarthy has noted in the past that the best of Keane as an international player might come when he is amongst colleagues whom he didn't grow up adoring. Despite the solidity of his performances in the 1994 World Cup, playing in front of Paul McGrath and beside Andy Townsend and Ray Houghton et al constricted him a little.

With responsibility and seniority so conspicuously resting on his shoulders now, Keane has grown accordingly, and his performance on Saturday reflected his excellence in his last competitive outings in Lithuania and Iceland late last summer.

On Saturday, when Boban or Asanovic got the ball in the centre of midfield they braced themselves then snapped it away as if it was ticking suspiciously. Their tentativeness was contagious at times.

"Roy is a world class player," said Mick McCarthy afterwards. "We don't have many players like him. I know what a plus it was to have him back."

Croatia, who lost Stanic and Jurcic to red cards, now have some breathing space in which to recover not just from defeat but the loss of key players through injury and suspension. They play Malta in Valetta on October 10th and are at home to Macedonia four days later. Anything less than victory in either game would be a major surprise.

For Ireland the gradient will continue to be steep. The team travels to Belgrade on October 10th for what promises to be a tough encounter with World Cup finalists Yugoslavia. Four days later, they return to Lansdowne Road for a somewhat easier assignment against Malta.

Four points from that week's work would leave Ireland on the verge of re-admission to the big time.