Nightmare on the cold mountain. Halfway up Titano on a chill February night, Irish soccer found a new low last night.
Held scoreless for an entire half by San Marino's hapless amateurs, we thought things could get no worse.
Being pegged back for a draw by a late and comical goal pitched us into the realms of disaster before an injury-time goal brought us back to mere awful reality.
Steve Staunton's tenure as Irish manager hangs by a thread after this latest humiliation. Having survived a defeat to Cyprus earlier in the competition, it is doubtful that the Irish manager can continue after this landmark setback.
Has there been a worse night recorded on the back pages? Doubtful.
Even Steven Ireland's late scrambled goal couldn't quell the chants for the removal not just of Staunton but of FAI chief executive John Delaney.
For perspective, San Marino have never won or drawn a game in this competition.
Their team, drawn from a population of just 25,000, spends its life in the stockades enduring potshots.
They play like men who expect to encounter visa problems if they approach the halfway line.
A first half of stalemate was an embarrassment for Ireland.
When Kevin Kilbane scored a goal in the 49th minute it looked as if face was all that the Irish would lose.
A stumbled goal which crossed the line almost in slow motion having been toepoked by Manuel Marani brought San Marino to level terms with four minutes left. It was the home side's fourth goal in 20 years.
Briefly they were on the cusp of what would have been the greatest result in their history.
In a hectic and undignified finish, Stephen Ireland the young Manchester City midfielder managed to bundle the ball over San Marino's line in the 94th minute. The Irish bench and players celebrated but one imagines that their appointment with the gallows has merely been commuted.
Ireland's next outing is against Wales in Croke Park in March.
A smaller, more modest venue might suffice at this stage.