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"It was good to come away with something," said Kilbane after a tireless display. "Tonight we proved what a good team we are. We believed in ourselves. We believed that we could come here and get a positive result - and we have.
"I enjoyed playing with Roy in the centre - he just brings out the best in players around him."
Republic captain Kenny Cunningham, who was troubled at times in the second half by the increasing influence of FIFA World Player of the year candidate Thierry Henry, said: "It was a good point, but we'll see at the end of the group how good it is.
"We came here to be disciplined and defend what we had," said the 33-year-old, who was winning his 61st cap.
"But we also wanted to take the game to France whenever the opportunity arose - and we did both those things," he added.
"We were a bit ragged against the Swiss, so we were determined to start brightly. Clinton going off was a blow but Andy (Reid) came on, and did well. It shows you the strength in depth in the squad.
"I thought we showed a lot of imagination up front - and with a bit more luck, we could have scored and won the game."