Such is the nature of Irish football, our storied history of supporting the national team abroad, a famed Christy Moore anthem and, more recently, a Hardy Bucks movie, it's difficult to imagine attending the Euros in June without the mind immediately wandering towards hiring a campervan.
However, there has been an extremely inconvenient development for the travelling hoards who planned on camping in Bordeaux for Ireland's potential group decider with Belgium (look, we can dream, can't we?)
It would appear that French authorities have put a kibosh on 'Camp Ireland' - a temporary camping hub, organised by Camping Ninja - which was scheduled to host a large number of Irish fans in the world's wine capital.
Nightmare for Irish fans. #CampingNinja's 'Camp Ireland' Bordeaux cancelled for #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/mtouuYdtqL
— Alistair McConnell (@ali_mcconnell) April 29, 2016
Camping Ninja state that due to heightened security restrictions, the agreements they had with various landowners are no longer tenable, meaning Camp Ireland can no longer go ahead as planned.
They are currently in the process of issuing refunds to affected Irish fans who had already booked their place at the site for June.
@ali_mcconnell we are gutted. Refunds are being processed as we speak.
— campingninja (@campingninja) April 29, 2016
The organisation create tailor-made campsites at some of the world's biggest events, such as the Olympics, the Euros and Edinburgh Festival, but it appears the French powers that be are upping the ante in terms of security.
It's not that the camp itself or Irish fans were considered a threat, of course, but more that stricter regulations have now rendered null and void Camping Ninja's initial permissions to host the camp.
If you had planned to stay at Camp Ireland and are now left without accommodation, it's probably worth visiting websites such as camping-bordeaux.com, or taking a look at this short Boards.ie thread for alternative suggestions.
Big thanks to RTÉ researcher Al McConnell for sending this our way.
