GAA history will be made at the weekend when Maggie Farrelly becomes the first woman to officiate in a men's inter-county championship match.
The Co Cavan referee will be in the middle at Brewster Park on Sunday when Fermanagh minors host Antrim in an Ulster quarter-final clash.
It represents not just the realisation, but the exceeding of a goal for the sportswoman from Laragh who said in 2007 she would "love to get to the stage where I was refereeing men's championship matches" within her own county.
But it comes as no surprise to those who, over the past decade, have been watching Ms Farrelly break new ground for women in the sport, including officiating at a men's senior inter-county league match in Croke Park last year.
The Breffni County official has been progressing steadily but surely through the ranks since she started out in ladies' football.
In 2006, she was asked by her home club, Laragh United, to help out in men's matches due to a shortage of referees in the county.
Ms Farrelly completed a foundation referee course and officiated at underage level and in adult reserve games in her county, where she was widely praised for her brisk approach and detailed knowledge of the rules.
In 2011, the same year that she graduated Letterkenny IT with a degree in business in sports development and coaching, she was also the only female among 16 officials invited to join the Ulster GAA Referee Academy.
She graduated as a qualified Ulster referee in January 2013 and sits on the National Referees' Support Panel, moving through the Ulster Minor Leagues to running the line in the McKenna Cup, sideline official in Allianz Football League Division 1 games and now refereeing a championship match.
Earlier in her career in the men's game, Ms Farrelly admitted she received "a bit of a slagging from supporters when they see me running out onto the pitch" but said they "soon get used to me".
And while the sport may be taking a hammering at the minute for the aggressive sledging reported on the pitch between rival players, the female referee has "found the fellas very respectful and they've shown little or no dissent for the most part".
She is known for dealing "with a nod and a smile" with verbal abuse from players, the worst of which comes "at underage level when you'd hear things that wouldn't be so nice from parents or some of those along the line connected with the teams".
There are currently three female match officials operating in the English men's football league, the most high-profile of whom is Sian Massey-Ellis, presently on maternity leave, who has run the line at Premier League games and was assistant referee for the FA Trophy final three years ago
In 2013, Amy Fearn became the first woman to take charge of a first-round FA Cup tie.
Three years earlier, she had been the first woman to take charge of a match in the Football League.
During the 1995-96 season, Wendy Toms was the first woman appointed as assistant referee to a Premier League game and in 2000 was assistant referee for the League Cup final.
