Manchester United are champions of England for the fifth time in seven years, after coming from behind to secure the premiership title with a 2-1 win over Tottenham at Old Trafford yesterday.
On a day with few parallels in the club's colourful history, they recovered from the shock of conceding an early goal to protect their one-point advantage over the defending champions, Arsenal.
Thousands of Irish supporters in a crowd of 55,000 saw Roy Keane accept the trophy at the end of one of the most enthralling championships of modern years and secure the first leg of an ambitious treble over the next 10 days.
Manchester United meet Newcastle United in the FA cup final next Saturday and Bayern Munich in the European Champions' League final in Barcelona four days later. However, their manager, Alex Ferguson, was content to savour the fulfilment of the moment.
"Tonight's the night for celebrating - we'll worry about Newcastle and Bayern Munich in the morning," he said.
"Even when you are lucky enough to have won things in the past, the latest victory is always the sweetest and yes, I was as excited as a schoolboy when the final whistle went and I knew we were champions once more.
"People attribute our success to many things but for me it's down to just one simple phrase - work ethic. Forget about egos - that's the bedrock of this club."
In achieving a fifth championship win, Ferguson equalled the feat of the late Sir Matt Busby but characteristically, he was scornful of any comparisons.
"He was the man who made it all possible in the first place - I'm just privileged to follow him in the job," he said.
Keane, the third Irishman to captain Manchester United after Jackie Carey and Noel Cantwell, overcame a lingering ankle injury to make a substantial contribution to victory.
He said afterwards it had not troubled him and he now expects to be available to lead the team in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
For Peter Schmeichel, their Danish goalkeeper who leaves the club at the end of the season, it was a fond farewell at a stadium where he has endeared himself to the club's supporters.
The last to ascend the presentation podium, Schmeichel then went to the Stretford end where, in some of the day's more poignant moments, he was saluted by the masses. "All good things must end but if I had to choose a day to take my leave of Old Trafford, this is it," he said.