The harps are ringing out in Brussels as Ireland takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council, succeeding Cyprus.
It marks the eighth time that the nation of 5.4 million people which joined the bloc in 1972, has assumed the unenviable role of “honest broker”.
"We do so at a critical time for the EU, with greater uncertainty and unpredictability in the world," Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
Under the Gaelic slogan of "Ní neart go cur le chéile" ("Strength with unity"), Ireland will steer negotiations among the other 26 member states and craft delicate, sometimes fragile, compromises that can satisfy all the disparate voices in the room.
With several files nearing an inflexion point, Dublin has its work cut out. Here are the five most pressing tasks for the Irish presidency.
