Another Lansdowne evening and the end-of-term weariness was almost as tangible a foe as the Macedonians. Mick McCarthy's team gouged three points out of the occasion though, and retired to the beaches of Europe. In relief, no room for nit-picking.
"We've got a goal and they've got nothing to lose, in fairness, so they came at us at the end," the manager said. "Maybe I'm the happiest man here tonight, maybe I'm the luckiest man, but we got the result we wanted."
The luckiest man in the world won't be investing his weekly crust in lottery tickets just yet. As the game wore on, McCarthy must have had vivid flashbacks of the tragi-comic press conference which followed the last meeting of these sides in Skopje. His team were floating like butterflies but not stinging like bees.
"You start to think that it won't come," he said. "It wasn't as if we weren't creating chances. We had been creating chances, and you are looking for one to go in. And when Robbie Keane got kicked in the face with that one you start to wonder."
The goal in the 66th minute broke the trance like rhythm of it. Not a thing of beauty, with Quinn getting his head to Kennedy's corner from about 12 inches out, but a cocktail of planning and fortune.
"I told Mark Kennedy to shoot, to drive it in hard. Anything with pace the goalkeeper wasn't handling well. I watched him against Croatia, he starts to come and if it's hung up he doesn't know whether to stick or twist. In fairness he did quite well, he made a great save, but Quinny was there for the header."
Quinn's 18th international goal came just as he thought he was about to participate in a more familiar routine. McCarthy had just summoned Tony Cascarino to the touchline. Quinn, still jubilant at scoring, looked surprised a couple of minutes later when Robbie Keane went off.
"I thought I'd try two big fellas up front for 10 minutes," said McCarthy. "We were playing back to front then, just getting in crosses. I was disappointed for Cas he didn't get the goal near the end. I would have been delighted for him."
If the sight of Ireland playing, however briefly, with both Cascarino and Quinn up front was a little surprising, so was the inclusion on the bench of Kevin Kilbane at the expense of Keith O'Neill. Kilbane's stint justified the decision.
"Keith O'Neill was left off, but I thought Kevin Kilbane when he came on against Sweden was outstanding. He knows the role he's been coached well, he's got great power and pace. Two years ago against Iceland he was a fish out of water. What an improvement in a lad."
Late on the Macedonians had almost filched a point when they grew desperate. McCarthy gave a trained eyewitness account.
"Mark Kennedy went to close him down and showed him the inside, which isn't the best thing to do when they are playing three in the middle. Their number eight came on the inside, split the centre halves, got between them lobbed it and it hit the crossbar. I saw it pretty well. Somebody must have said one for me over the weekend. But you won't dominate for 90 minutes. They are going to have at least one chance.
"I'm delighted for the players. They're away on holidays now and they didn't want to be lying on a beach somewhere thinking of points thrown away."
And the state of the nation bit?
"My assessment of the group is that if we can play all our games with correct preparation we have a chance of qualifying. I still think the seeding of it is correct, but Croatia are suffering a World Cup hangover. They played superbly in the World Cup and haven't performed in this group yet. I still fancy we can qualify. Maybe Macedonia or ourselves can nick it. I fancy we can qualify."
And as for the famous yellow training jersey bearing the legend "I Had A Macedonia" and worn honourably by the worst player in training every day since the defeat in Skopje? Consigned to the flames.
"We might try and do something else, we might sign it up and auction it somewhere for a charity. Maybe somebody would want it. Maybe a Macedonian even."
And everyone in the room thought of their own grim little Balkans joke.
