For Irish rugby, 2024 produced no shortage of highlights. For the men's team, another Six Nations title was claimed, although the elation was tinged with regret after missing out on the Grand Slam.
The summer stirred even more mixed emotions, losing to world champions South Africa before a stunning, Ciaran Frawley-inspired win in Durban.
Three wins from four was a satisfactory return in the Autumn Nations Series, but losing to the All Blacks in the headline fixture only served to deepen Irish wounds from the 2023 World Cup.
As for the women's side, significant strides were made in their first full year under head coach Scott Bemand with World Cup qualification and a memorable win over world champions New Zealand to show for their efforts.
For Irish rugby as a whole, the next 12 months promise to be exciting but uncertain. Here is a look-ahead to a busy year in 2025.
Easterby to lead in Farrell's absence
This time last year, Ireland were bracing themselves for the first game of the post-Johnny Sexton era.
This year finds them planning another Six Nations title defence, only without the man who has masterminded their journey back to the summit of the competition.
With head coach Andy Farrell having been seconded to the British and Irish Lions before he leads next summer's tour to Australia, he will be absent from Ireland's coaches' box for the first time since the 2016 Six Nations.
In his stead, Simon Easterby will oversee Ireland's Six Nations campaign and summer matches against Georgia, Romania and Portugal.
Part of the Irish backroom team since 2014, Easterby has undoubtedly served his apprenticeship, and while he has the chance to lead Ireland to their first ever Six Nations hat-trick, there are some issues for him to address.
Firstly, Easterby must back a fly-half. While Jack Crowley occupied the 10 jersey for most of 2024, the emergence of Sam Prendergast - who started the last two autumn games - has complicated the picture.
Beyond that, the hope is that the Six Nations will see Ireland return to being the free-flowing juggernaut associated with Farrell's tenure. Results, as a whole, remained positive in 2024, but their autumn performances failed to inspire.
With England travelling to Dublin on the opening weekend of the Six Nations, Easterby has no time to spare as he prepares to take on the most intense challenge of his coaching career.
Lions auditions
With Farrell now wearing his Lions hat, he will be keeping a close eye on the sizeable chunk of the Ireland squad for whom making the tour to Australia is a realistic ambition.
Some of Ireland's most consistent performers in the Farrell era are highly likely to be making their Lions debuts. Scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park is a contender for the nine jersey, Andrew Porter - who missed the 2021 tour because of injury - has a reasonable claim for the loose-head prop role, while Caelan Doris has been talked about as a potential skipper after leading Ireland through November's autumn campaign.
Tadhg Beirne, Dan Sheehan, Josh van der Flier and Hugo Keenan are others whose omissions would come as a real shock.
Then are those who will hope to create headaches for Farrell, with the Six Nations crucial in determining whether Crowley or Prendergast are ready for a Lions tour.
James Ryan, who was overlooked by Warren Gatland in 2021, will be desperate for a call-up, while the likes of Ryan Baird, Joe McCarthy and Ciaran Frawley will hope to launch themselves into contention during the Six Nations.
Sadly for Craig Casey, however, his chances of impressing Farrell before the tour have been hampered by the knee injury that will keep him out for approximately four months.
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