You have to know these Clare guys. Fellas you'd take into the trench with you knowing that they'd be first out the other side. Take Anthony Daly. "There was a big breeze out there," he says, explaining the first half and how it differed in essence form the second. "A small bit of tension and at half-time Ger (Loughnane) said `Jaysus come on lads we're only four points down, what are we worried about'," then Liam (Doyle) went out and got the first point of the second half and that really set the tone."

Just like that.

These are the most downbeat All-Ireland champions in quite a while. Barely a racing pulse in the post-match dressing-room. The goals, the achievement, the satisfaction all internalised.

"Nineteen-ninety-five was a huge occasion, the big breakthrough," says Brian Lohan, sitting quietly. "This year it is just satisfying and enjoyable. People seem to be much more relaxed. This year is a whole new year."

He even looks slightly disgruntled. Eugene O'Neill had just scored more off him than all the rest of the full forwards he's played on put together. When O'Neill batted down the ball for Tipperary's second goal, had it ever crossed Lohan's mind that perhaps his man had just scored the winning goal?

"No. Not really. I don't think the momentum ever switched to Tipp from the minute the ball was thrown in (in the second half). Liam Doyle got the first one and put it over the bar and we had the momentum from then on. We would have expected that after the first goal that they would have had the momentum but we were two points up. Then they got the second goal and I really thought the momentum would switch but we got the point straight away it was over before we knew it. we had the monetum the whole time. When the ball went to Jamesie (O'Connor) for the last point I think everybody knew it was going over the bar."

Anthony Daly concurred. The goals had been setbacks but hadn't interrupted the rhythm of Clare's progress.

"Whatever was going to go wrong for the goals went wrong, but Ollie's (Ollie Baker's) point was unbeleivable to level it, you know. Good as he is he wouldn't have been my choice to hit the ball I can tell you. For the winner I'd rather have seen Jamesie getting it than Ollie getting it again. Jamesie could break your heart in training, he'd score with ease, like off both sides. When it came to the winner, with due respects for Mr Baker, he wouldn't have been my first choice."

There was much chatter in the Clare dressing-room about the shot at the death of the game which Johnny Leahy had driven low to Davy Fitzgerald's right.

"When Leahy got the ball it flashed through my mind that he'd missed one in the Munster final and he was going to do us now," said Anthony Daly. "It was made hard for him and a great goalkeeper saved it. I wouldn't fault him for going for the goal. If Sparrow was in like that say he'd go for it, I'd be saying `pick it Sparrow'. He actually hit the shot fairy well you know, but anywhere around where he put it you'd fancy Davey (Fitzgerald) to get it.

"I thought when he got it he was going to put it over the bar." said Brian Lohan "I couldn't believe when he went for the goal. It had gone outside and I think Brian O'Meara got it and gave it in. Generally speaking we expect Fitzie to stop them, anything outside 14 yards he would stop them. He did this time. I couldn't believe that he went for the goal."

As for Davy Fitzgerald himself? Much ado about nothing. Just taking care of business.

"The only thing I thought about was was keeping my eye on the ball. I knew myself that I hadn't make any real mistakes before that. I was happy with my game and I just knew if I kept my eye on it I'd a chance of stopping it. He got a bit of power behind it but I went down to my right and it stayed out. I suppose it's heartbreak for him. He had the game at his mercy and maybe if he went in he would have been the hero in Tipp and now he's the villain.

"He had no other option. He'd a straight goal. That's the sort of player he is. Go for broke. Thanks be to God I stopped it."

Ger Loughnane, with his eye on the verdict of history as ever, pronounced it another epic, another game to live when others have died in the memory. Clare seem to play a lot of those.

"Brilliant game. A lot was said about the rivalry but it turned out exactly as I thought it would. Not a dirty stroke. In the half-time (break) we talked very calmy. Four points was a great position. We were in the driving seat even though we were four points down.

"All we had to do was take our points and play with the wind. Decided to keep calm. Up the game a fair bit. We never felt we were going to lose today. We got great scores and we had two big setbacks but we came back. We talk about the character of a team and today it was tested to the very limit in the most intense heat possible. We are at our best under pressure."

Ollie Baker had proved Loughnane's point, scoring the equalising point at the time of maximum pressure.

"The ball broke from the halfback line and it bounced in front of me and I was able to run on to it and tip it over the bar. I was in space a lot more than in previous games, I found. If the chance comes you just take a point. If it goes wide to hell with it. If it goes over you are a great man. In this team you'll never be faulted for an effort."

Accused once or twice earlier in the season of fading in the closing stages of matches, Loughnane and his assiduous team had set about remedying that with the final in mind.

"We changed the training. For a while this summer we played ferociously competitive matches in training. Playing without any break, ball on the move the whole time for 25 to 35 minutes a half. If it went over the sideline it was thrown straight back into them. Very intense. We decided recently to lengthen that and play those games for longer periods. We didn't fade today."

Indeed from start to finish they had known what they were about. They won the toss and elected to face the wind rather than build a lead with it. Sound method in their madness .

"We chose to play into the breeze. We watched the minor game and saw how influential the breeze was. We knew that first 10 or 15 minutes of an All-Ireland would be very tight and that there wouldn't be many scores got out of it. We reckoned that if we upped it and it got a bit loose in the second half we'd have more benefit. That's how it worked."

Final words to Ger Loughnane, eyes flashing, mouth working fast, wired to the centre of his team. Beating Tipp twice in a season has to be special?

"I don't feel triumphant over Tipperary. I appreciate them all the more. One of the greatest hurling counties in Ireland and we were out there as equals and battled it out that way. No grudges. We shook hands at the end. Two great teams. One of the greatest All-Irelands we have ever seen. Couldn't ask for a better game.

"Great day."

Great champions.