For Liam Rushe there has been something almost counter-intuitive about Na Fianna finally landing a first Dublin hurling title, emphatically putting Ballyboden away by 16 points.
Having taken a year out, he found himself tossed into action with little preparation and ended up playing centre back on a championship winning team.
“Personally, it’s pretty surreal. Having put so much effort into every previous season, this year I haven’t played in a year basically. I’ve come back and I’ve done four or five weeks, missed half the sessions through injury. It’s just mad. I think it just shows that the overall standard has risen in the team, there’s so many lads, the depth is incredible.”
Then there is the absence of Dónal Burke, the club’s most celebrated player, who injured himself in Dublin’s last championship engagement with Clare.
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“That’s what I was trying to say earlier,” explains Rushe, “because of that other people have had to step up. Like I said, he might have been getting 50, 60, 70 per cent of scores in previous years and this year they’re coming from all over: midfield, wing-back, all the forwards. So it’s great.”
If ever experience benefitted a team, it was Na Fianna at the weekend. Having lost the last two county finals, both to Kilmacud Crokes, the lessons were there and absorbed, particularly those of 2021. Rushe acknowledges the questions about the team losing leads in both years.
“I think it’s just very satisfying, a feeling of satisfaction mixed with relief. We talked – people were telling us, ‘Oh, can you get over the line?’ I think we were really happy that we kind of powered over it for a finish and just took the lessons of the last two years, got up nine points two years ago. This year the same thing happened, didn’t take the eye off the ball, kept doing the basics.
“The effort dropped two years ago, all around the pitch. We said it ourselves, people were gone celebrating in their minds. We looked untouchable and obviously we turned out not to be. Just that maturity I suppose, to finish the game out, be professional, keep contesting the 50-50s, keep level.
“Yeah, just satisfaction that the team has matured I suppose and we could see it out.”
Now 33, he had decided to take a year out before Micheál Donoghue’s appointment as Dublin manager and persevered with his decision. He has won as much as any hurler for the county, league medal, Leinster championship and two All Stars.
Any prospect of his returning to the intercounty fold remains shrouded in doubt. Asked was it on his horizon, he remained non-committal.
“It’s not. Look, I just want to get through this, get through the club season, see how far that takes us and then make decisions after that.”
He does accept that the year out has energised him and fired up his interest in the game.
“Do I feel fresh? I don’t know about that. I probably could have done with more of a pre-season. It’s just great. You come back with a renewed love for it. After a break away you definitely realise how much you enjoy it. When you come back, there is nothing like the intensity. I get massive enjoyment out of just competing at the highest level, being at your max the whole time. So yeah, I really enjoyed it.”
