The sign on the hotel function room door read "Operation Smile Ireland", so we knew we were in the wrong place. Sure enough, across the hall, a couple of stars from the campaign to make this proud little nation of ours collectively frown this evening, were clambering up on stage to face the press.
Team manager Oliver Bierhoff went first and rather graciously talked up the challenge facing his players at Croke Park before casually reiterating that they have not come all this way for a draw.
The former striker, though, may not be entirely on top of the Republic's fortunes of late, for he referred only to the team's wins over Wales and Slovakia back in March.
"I'm sure that the Irish will be surfing on the wave of those successes," he observed, perhaps unaware that the majority of fans here have long since moved on to dwelling on their side's unimpressive away record.
A confident performer, nevertheless, Bierhoff chatted amiably about this evening's game without ever saying very much.
Asked about the starting line-up he let on to be in the know and out of the loop all at once but suggested nothing would be decided before last night's training session at Croke Park.
Kevin Kuranyi, when his turn came to field questions, was no more forthcoming. The 25-year-old was charming and chatty but the actual content of his invariably polite replies lent further weight to the suspicion that banalities serve as a sort of Esperanto for international footballing folk.
With Miroslav Klose injured, the Schalke 04 player is the only striker to be sure of his place this evening.
A year ago Lukas Podolski would have been an automatic choice beside him but these days he can't get into the starting line-up at Bayern Munich, and so Mario Gomez, with three goals from his first three games for the national team, is also a serious contender.
Whoever starts up front for the Germans, they will provide a formidable challenge for an Irish defence that may yet be without Manchester United's John O'Shea.
The visitors are unlikely to be awestruck by any of the home side's potential partners for Richard Dunne at the heart of the back four. And it seems possible, for all the run-of-the-mill talk about knowing and respecting Steve Staunton's men, there might be one or two they have not even heard of.
Certainly, when Kuranyi reacted to the old chestnut about his views on the Guinness in Dublin by admitting he had never heard of the stuff, it seemed entirely implausible that he could be familiar with the man who might be marking him tonight, Alex Bruce.
"We do know the team and we'll know them even better over the next day or so," Kuranyi insisted, however, albeit without naming names.
"It will not be easy," he continued, "but we've come here to win the game, no doubt about it. Playing against Ireland is very difficult and just trying to scramble a point isn't on really."
Then there was some talk regarding a code of ethics which has been distributed to certain members of the German squad over the last few days. Kuranyi revealed the players who left the squad because of injury over the last few days had been given copies of the document, while those who had travelled to Dublin had not.
The delay suggests that while their constant talk about beating us may be a little insensitive they are at least making an effort to avoid causing offence to certain sections of the population here.
Three to remember . . . Republic of Ireland v Germany
June 2002, Ibaraki - World Cup finals
Republic of Ireland 1 (Keane 90)
Germany 1 (Klose 19)
Having drawn with Cameroon in their opening game of the 2002 finals Ireland were on the brink of an early exit from the tournament when, with the game against Germany in injury-time, they trailed to Miroslav Klose's 19th-minute goal. And then Niall Quinn flicked Steve Finnan's long ball in to the path of Robbie Keane and, well, you know yourself. While Oliver Kahn plucked the ball from his net and the Irish players celebrated, 7,000 green and gold inflatable hammers were chucked in to the Ibaraki sky. Happy days. Germany went on to reach the final where they lost to Brazil.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given, Finnan, Staunton, Breen, Harte, G Kelly, Holland, Kinsella, Kilbane, Keane, Duff. Subs: Quinn for G Kelly (73 mins), S Reid for Harte (74 mins), Cunningham for Staunton (87 mins).
GERMANY: Kahn, Linke, Ramelow, Metzelder, Frings, Schneider, Ballack, Hamann, Ziege, Klose, Jancker. Subs: Bierhoff for Jancker (75 mins), Bode for Klose (85 mins), Jeremies for Schneider (90 mins).
May 1994, Hanover - Friendly
Germany 0
Republic of Ireland 2 (Cascarino 31, G Kelly 68)
Fifty thousand German fans turned up to bid the reigning world champions auf wiedersehen before they departed for the World Cup in America, but Tony Cascarino's 31st minute header and Gary Kelly's 68th-minute strike somewhat spoiled the party. It was Germany's first home defeat in six years, since losing to the Netherlands in the semi-finals of Euro 88, and their first to Ireland in 34 years.
GERMANY: Illgner, Matthaus, Strunz, Kohler, Wagner, Basler, Buchwald, Sammer, Moller, Klinsmann, Riedle. Subs: Berthold for Buchwald (35 mins), Effenberg for Kohler (45 mins), Hassler for Moller (45 mins), Voller for Riedle (66 mins).
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: A Kelly, Irwin, McGrath, Babb, Phelan, McAteer, Sheridan, Townsend, Roy Keane, Staunton, Cascarino. Subs: G Kelly for Irwin (half-time), Whelan for Sheridan (half-time), Coyle for Cascarino (70 mins), Houghton for McAteer (86 mins).
September 1989, Dublin - Friendly
Republic of Ireland 1 (Stapleton 10)
Germany 1 (Dorfner 32)
When Frank Stapleton latched on to a back pass from Thomas Hassler in the 10th minute and hooked the ball home to equal Don Givens's Irish record of 19 goals that should really have been the story of the game. But 22 minutes later Hassler ran past Steve Staunton and Liam Brady on the Irish left, squaring for Hans Dorfner to score, and three minutes later, much to the player and the crowd's bemusement, Jack Charlton substituted Brady, there ending his 72-cap international career.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Bonner, Morris, McCarthy, O'Leary, Staunton, Whelan, McGrath, Brady, Galvin, Stapleton, Aldridge. Subs: Townsend for Brady (35 mins), John Byrne for Stapleton (74 mins), Cascarino for Aldridge (74 mins).
GERMANY: Illgner, Reuter, Augenthaler, Buchwald, Pfluger, Moller, Dorfner, Littbarski, Thon, Hassler, Wohlfarth. Subs: Aumann for Illgner (half-time), Reinhardt for Buchwald (half-time), Bein for Dorfner (84 mins).
The record
Sept 2006: ECQ, Stuttgart Lost 0-1
June 2002: WC, Ibaraki Drew 1-1
May 1994: Friendly, Hanover Won 2-0
Sept 1989: Friendly, Lansdowne Road Drew 1-1
May 1979: Friendly, Lansdowne Road Lost 1-3
May 1970: Friendly, Berlin Lost 1-2
May 1966: Friendly, Dalymount Park Lost 0-4
May 1960: Friendly, Dusseldorf Won 1-0
Nov 1956: Friendly, Dalymount Park Won 3-0
May 1955: Friendly, Hamburg Lost 1-2
May 1952: Friendly, Cologne Lost 0-3
Oct 1951: Friendly, Dalymount Park Won 3-2
May 1939: Friendly, Bremen Drew 1-1
Oct 1936: Friendly, Dalymount Park Won 5-2
May 1935: Friendly, Dortmund Lost 1-3
