At one point between television interviews in UCD’s 1,400-seater stadium yesterday, Vera Pauw took a time-out.
She wiped her eyes as she walked with an FAI official towards the centre-circle, took a swig from a bottle of water, composed herself and returned to face the cameras for more questions about her World Cup squad selection.
The emotional strain of the previous couple of days - and a lack of sleep - had taken its toll on Ireland’s battle-hardened manager.
