A runaway win would surely have taken the edge off things and so, if you were scripting a night like this, perhaps it would go precisely as Dundalk’s title-clinching win over Bohemians did in the end.

Early promise followed by a setback tinged with injustice and then just enough suspense to add to the joy of the final celebration.

Certainly it is hard to imagine a greater sense of elation inside Oriel Park than the one that built between Brian Gartland’s winning goal after 63 minutes and the end of this game. As it approached, they asked for fans to stay off the pitch but the space around it was already disappearing.

The players did too when the final whistle sounded, swallowed up in a sea of ecstatic supporters.

The joy

“I think we’ll enjoy this,” said Kenny. “It was tremendous just to win one; coming from where we were. To win one was tremendous and the impact that’s had on the town. Dundalk isn’t the same place that it was four years ago. You can see the passion and the joy that it brings. That’s something special.”

The team that has achieved it all is special too and the manager paid tribute to the collective strength that had enabled them to pick themselves up and come back for more time after time.

“They’re a special group of players,” he said. “I think they’ve shown that over the last few years. To lose to Sligo they way we did, the players were out on their feet, but they had to go again a few days later against Cork who had all the momentum, so to win that game was really something special for us. When the chips were down, to go and win it and then to back it up with another couple of big wins . . . that is very special.”

Inevitably, there were questions about matching Shamrock Rovers’ record four-in-a -row next season. For the moment, though, Kenny preferred to dwell on the history already made with three successive titles delivered for a club that had won nine in its previous 110 years.

“I want to just enjoy three-in-a-row but that’s not it. We’ve got another game on Tuesday, on Friday and we’ve got to go to Zenit and try and get a result and then come back again and try and win the FAI Cup in front of 25,000, 30,000 people. These are the big tests again before I think about four-in-a-row. To win one is special, the double last year and go for a double double now.”

As Kenny talked, his players hugged friends and family amid celebrations that seemed set to continue.

Amongst them was Daryl Horgan, perhaps the team’s standout star in a season when quite a few others shone and the winger was relishing this latest success.

“It was probably not the best performance in the world but, listen, we ground out another 2-1 win and that’s what you have to do to win the league,” he said. “I suppose we showed another side of our game tonight.”