The president made the call during a trip to a rugby club in her native Belfast yesterday where the topic of the eagerly anticipated Six Nations match was clearly high on the agenda.

A capacity crowd of 82,300 is expected to pack into the Dublin home of GAA tomorrow to watch history in the making when Ireland take on England.

Bidding for gold dust tickets was reaching fever pitch this morning at the clock ticked down towards tomorrow's 5.30pm kick off.

Numerous pairs of tickets were on offer for anything from £210 to £2,000.

The highest bid placed so far this morning was £1,550 for two seats in the Cusack Stand.

Every rugby fan in Ireland, on both sides of the border, want to say they were there when England are hopefully beaten by Brian O'Driscoll's men at Croke Park so the hunt for tickets has been immense.

Co Down plumber and rugby fan Oliver Forsythe is offering to fit a brand new bathroom, worth up to £800, in exchange for two tickets.

Mrs McAleese was accompanied by her husband Dr Martin McAleese when she visited Harlequins rugby club in the Malone area of south Belfast which shares its facilities with St Bridget's GAA club.

She said the concept of sportsmanship and all it entailed was " beautifully honoured" at Harlequins.

"What you have done here is very special - to welcome your good neighbours, St Bridget's, to share the facilities and be part of the community of Harlequins.

"It is one of the loveliest examples of true sportsmanship," she said.

"Keep doing what you are doing. It is going to catch on."

Traffic and crowd safety restrictions will be in place for the game.

Gardai have advised fans, particularly those intending to park at Clonliffe College, to arrive in good time before the game starts.

People arriving via the M50/M1 motorways are advised to allow time for traffic delays and in the run up to the game Dublin Port Tunnel will be open to all vehicles.

Turnstiles will be open at 3.30pm and there will be rigorous searches at Garda check-points.

Supporters will not be allowed air horns, bottled alcohol, certain flag poles, or any other item that could cause injury or inconvenience to others.