Clare's star hurler, Tony Kelly, has claimed that winning the 2024 All-Ireland title means more than the 2013 one he and his team won, due to the drought of Liam McCarthy titles that followed.
This year, Clare beat Cork in one of the best All-Ireland finals ever, and Kelly's performance in the final was one of the key differences between the two sides last month.
Clare had to watch the likes of Limerick win Liam McCarthy after Liam McCarthy, while their last title came in 2013 with a younger squad that included Kelly himself and Shane O'Donnell, who scored a hat trick that day.
Kelly was asked by RTÉ Sport to describe the difference between the two titles and admitted that learning that titles don't come by every year made him far more appreciative of the one they just won in 2024.
"It's mad," Kelly said after receiving the PwC GPA Player of the Month for June. "Some of us won when we were 18 or 19. We won nothing in our 20s. And now we're winning again in our 30s. That's just sport. But yeah, we're lucky to have those two.
"It's different from 2013. Back then, we probably came from underage success, and you're thinking, This is great; this is what's supposed to happen.
Tony Kelly of Clare scores his side's third goal during the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Clare and Cork at Croke Park in Dublin. (Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)"You go from 2013 to 2024 without an All-Ireland, and it makes you appreciate it more."
Clare, with Kelly, will believe they can challenge every team in the country next year, but the nature of hurling can sometimes be unpredictable unless you are Limerick or Kilkenny.
Kelly explained that belief was a big factor in their All-Ireland win, but the star hurler also admitted that there is no guarantee that will be the case next year.
"You have to believe that you can compete or get to the business end of the championship," says Kelly.
"In those years between 2013 and 2018, for one reason or another, we didn't play well enough; we didn't have enough lads playing well enough.
"Probably beaten by better teams. That Galway team around '17. Tipperary around then. Cork.
"Every year is different. There's no guarantee next year that we're going to get to the business end of the championship.
"Since Brian came in, we've been relatively consistent in getting to that latter end of the championship."
