Ireland's dreams of completing back-to-back Grand Slams are over after a late Marcus Smith drop goal secured a 23-22 win for England at Twickenham on Saturday evening.
Ireland were second-best for much of Saturday's encounter, often struggling to cope with England's ferocious pressure.
Andy Farrell's side knew that a win would have secured the Six Nations title with a game to spare, setting up a showdown with Scotland at the Aviva Stadium next Saturday to clinch the Grand Slam.
Ireland hardly ever reached the levels they have shown in recent years but still looked poised to clinch an undeserved victory when James Lowe went over in the corner early in the second half to put them 17-8 ahead.
They looked to have secured a narrow victory when Lowe dived over in the corner again with eight minutes remaining to make it 22-20, but England were relentless and continued to ask questions of the Irish defense.
With a penalty advantage coming and England deep in Irish territory, replacement flyhalf Marcus Smith kicked a short-range drop goal to give England their first win over Ireland since 2020.
Ireland took an early lead in Saturday's contest through a Jack Crowley penalty but were soon behind after Ollie Lawrence raced through for England's first try of the evening.
A George Ford penalty extended England's lead to five before three successive Crowley penalties gave Ireland a four-point lead at half-time after withstanding significant England pressure for much of the half.
They quickly extended their lead to nine points through an excellent James Lowe try, moving the ball quickly through the hands to send Lowe racing over in the corner. Crowley missed the difficult conversion attempt.
England quickly canceled out Lowe's try when George Furbank sprinted over to score.
Ford missed the conversion, leaving four points between the sides once more.
Then came a crucial turning point when Irish captain Peter O'Mahony was sin-binned for going off his feet at the breakdown after Ben Earl had made a brilliant break into the Irish 22.
England quickly made the numerical advantage count, with Earl crashing over under the posts to give England a three-point lead.
Ireland survived the remainder of the 10-minute sin-bin period without incident and took the lead once again when Lowe again touched down in the corner. However, Crowley crucially missed another difficult conversion, meaning an England penalty or drop goal would be enough to claim a victory.
Elliot Daly was wayward with a long-range penalty, but England kept coming and inched their way toward the Irish tryline, earning a penalty advantage in the process.
As England moved ever closer to the Irish line, Tadhg Beirne was pinged for not releasing, giving England an even easier penalty underneath the posts.
With that safety net, Smith took matters into his own hands and slotted a close-range drop goal and hand England a famous win.
Ireland must now avoid defeat against Scotland at the Aviva Stadium next week to claim the Six Nations title, while England retain slim hopes of winning the title if they beat France with a bonus point and Scotland beat Ireland by more than seven points.
France can also win the title if they secure bonus point victories over Wales and England and Ireland lose to Scotland by more than seven points.
Scotland, meanwhile, can still win the title mathematically but must beat Ireland by 39 points next Saturday and hope other results go their way.
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