Ireland celebrated captain Brian O'Driscoll's century of caps by cruising to a 27-12 victory over Wales which leaves it one win away from claiming its fifth Triple Crown in seven seasons.
The win, underpinned by Keith Earls' try double and one from Tomas O'Leary, also kept alive an outside chance of a successful Six Nations title defence.
Ireland first five-eighths Jonathan Sexton kicked three penalty goals and a late dropped goal, while opposite number Stephen Jones booted four penalty goals, but Wales once again paid a huge price for poor discipline.
The home side repeated England's feat last month by scoring two tries while Wales had a player in the sin bin.
At Twickenham it was lock Alun-Wyn Jones who cost his team dear, and this time fullback Lee Byrne's technical infringement opened the door for an Irish side that needed no second invitation.
Wales now finds itself in the wooden spoon mix alongside Scotland and Italy heading into next weekend's final round of fixtures following three defeats from four starts.
Ireland though, will clinch the Triple Crown if it beats Scotland at Croke Park next Saturday, and that would have been O'Driscoll's main objective, not the adulation reserved for his 100th cap.
Ireland was unchanged from the side that beat England at Twickenham last time out.
Wales lost skipper Ryan Jones to a calf muscle injury, so Gloucester's Gareth Delve deputised at number eight with flanker Martyn Williams taking over as captain.
It was Williams' 95th cap, breaking Colin Charvis' appearance record for a Wales forward, while hooker Matthew Rees made his first start of the championship and lock Luke Charteris gained a recall alongside second-row partner Bradley Davies.
O'Driscoll - the second Irish player to reach 100 caps after his team-mate John Hayes - inevitably received a rapturous reception as he led Ireland out.
But his team struggled to make early headway, despite flanker David Wallace and lock Paul O'Connell featuring as prominent ball carriers.
Sexton missed a long-range penalty chance and there was more composure about Wales as Jones booted them into a 10th-minute lead before failing to find the target from much longer distance.
The sparring continued during a muted opening quarter, although Ireland offered a flash of their attacking prowess when Bowe glided through a midfield gap.
And that was the cue for Wales to reach for a self-destruct button it had found far too readily in this season's championship.
Byrne was sin-binned for killing the ball just three minutes after a second Sexton penalty, and Ireland immediately made their temporary numerical advantage count.
The home side saw centre Gordon D'Arcy limp off but Earls - moved from wing to centre as Rob Kearney replaced D'Arcy - struck through a well-worked try.
A slick O'Driscoll pass gave him all the room he needed to manoeuvre himself outside Charteris' despairing lunge for a score that settled Irish nerves.
Although Sexton missed a simple conversion, Ireland was rapidly back on the attack, and with Byrne still watching from the sidelines, it struck another telling blow.
This time it was O'Connell who emerged with possession and he sent O'Leary sprinting unopposed through a disorganised Welsh defence.
The visitors' worst fears had been realised through another miserable first-half performance, its fifth in succession, including this season's autumn Test series finale against Australia.
A second Jones penalty halted Ireland's scoring blitz, but Wales had once again given themselves a mountain to