The demolition of the ageing edifice and construction work on a new 50,000-seater facility costing 365m are optimistically scheduled to begin next year, and with that time frame in mind, the 2007 home championship fixtures against France and England have already been fixed for Croke Park.

Given the resistance to the plans which were lodged with Dublin City Council in January . . . residents have expressed their dismay at the height of the proposed stadium . . . Lansdowne Road could be intact when next season's Six Nations kicks off, however, it is highly likely that Ireland's games will still go ahead at GAA headquarters.

An international ground since 1878 when England were the first opponents, Lansdowne Road looks and feels its age. Compared with shabby, outdated venues such as Thomond Park, Ravenhill, Donnybrook and the Sportsground, Irish rugby's focal point did not always appear to be the embarrassment it has more recently become.

The building of the East Stand in 1983 . . . unless you count the installation of floodlights . . . represented the last piece of modernisation, but since then, the changing faces of the Millennium Stadium, Twickenham and Murrayfield have put Lansdowne Road to shame, a shame that has been compounded by the gleaming magnificence of nearby Croke Park. In fact, if Henry Dunlop, the original owner of the ground, was around today, he would surely be dismayed at Lansdowne's decrepit condition.

Dunlop's vision was of a multi-sports venue and in the 1870s, Lansdowne Road catered for athletics, soccer, rugby, cricket, tennis, croquet and archery. A president of Lansdowne FC from 1872 until 1904, Dunlop sold the lease to the IRFU and the ground soon became synonymous with rugby.

While luminaries such as Ronnie Delany and Fanny Blankers-Koen . . . who set a world record for the 100 yards . . . as well as a youthful Diego Maradona and some of the greats of Irish soccer have all competed or played at Lansdowne Road, it has been the spiritual home of Irish rugby for well over 100 years.

The Grand Slam of 1948 and the Triple Crown of 1949 were clinched at Ravenhill and Swansea respectively, but it fell to Lansdowne Road to host the successes of the modern era. In 1982, Ollie Campbell's class shone through as the out-half kicked six penalties and a drop goal to defeat Scotland 21-12 and secure the Triple Crown, however, three years later with Ciaran Fitzgerald once again as captain, the outcome wasn't nearly as clear-cut.

Level at 10-10 with England in the mud, Fitzgerald created a place for himself in rugby lore when lip-readers had little trouble deciphering his "Where's your fucking pride?"

exhortation. His players responded and with just minutes remaining, Michael Kiernan landed the matchwinning drop goal.

It was almost 20 years before Gordon D'Arcy filleted the Scotland defence for another Triple Crown, but by then Brian O'Driscoll had already joined the list of great Irish players such as Jack Kyle, Tom Kiernan, Mike Gibson, Willie John McBride, Fergus Slattery and Keith Wood to have graced Lansdowne Road.

There have been other memorable moments like when Noel Henderson scored a famous try on the way to a 9-6 victory over Australia in 1958, and when Wales arrived in 1970 with the Triple Crown as good as won only to be undone by a rampaging Ken Goodall.

Wales and Scotland failed to arrive in 1972, preferring to stay away on account of the Troubles, and when England fulfilled the fixture the following year, their captain John Pullin caught the mood with his "We might be no good, but at least we turn up" comment.

There was the mistake of allowing South Africa to play during the controversial 1970 tour, the silence when Michael Lynagh scored at the end of a dramatic World Cup quarterfinal in 1991, possibly a touch of madness when Willie Anderson went nose-to-nose with 1989 New Zealanders during the haka, and also tragedy back in 1927 when a Lansdowne player, Brian Hanrahan, died after being injured in a Leinster Senior Cup game against Dublin University.

Ulster's European Cup triumph and Young Munster's passionate All Ireland League win were unforgettable occasions away from the international glare, but perversely the best rugby ever seen at the old ground, when Australia tore New Zealand apart in the 1991 World Cup semifinal, had no Irish involvement.

There may be planning delays, and there could be more civil strife, but the new stadium cannot come soon enough for a new generation.

If the look will be very different, then at least the location will hold the memories.