Yesterday marked seven years since Brendan Rodgers first brought his side to Dublin in a 3-1 friendly loss to Barcelona.
Seven years later and Saturday was only the second time in as many years Celtic had travelled across the water to play in front of their maiden Irish Celtic supporters.
For a club as we all know enriched in Irish heritage, this stat is worrying for the future of Celtics fanbase in Ireland.
There will always be a healthy number of Celtic fans in Ireland, regardless of the effort the club makes to grow the fanbase across the water. But since the turn of the millennium, the growth of the English Premier League has somewhat overtaken Irish interest in Celtic and football in the East End of Glasgow.
One only has to look at Ireland’s premier sports media outlet Off The Ball to back up this claim, where the English Premier League dominates discussion on the popular Irish radio show. Who could blame Irish football interest shifting to the Premier League when Celtic don’t bother to come across the water and even attempt to spark more Irish interest in the club.
Five years ago, Chelsea played Arsenal in front of 46,000 Irish spectators at the Aviva Stadium, just 28,000 watched Celtic’s 1-1 draw with Wolves on Saturday.
Celtic fans will always be prevalent in Ireland, but an annual pre-season trip to the Emerald Isles is a necessity if the club wishes to compete with Premier League interest.