Stood with microphone in hand as his speech came to a conclusion, Denn captain Bernard Gaffney anticipated that the roar which was about to erupt when he lifted the cup would be heard in heaven by all those which the community had lost in the previous two decades.
At Breffni Park on Saturday, Denn defeated Drung to claim the Cavan Junior Football Championship title. There followed an emotional speech from Gaffney as he remembered those who had died since the club last won a senior cup.
"In those 18 years, we've lost a lot of friends," he said.
"We lost mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents - people who would be here today. We're going to have one hell of a party after this tonight.
"It's great to see young and old here. When we go up to that football field and we look down and see the underage training, we know that like in life, we're only passing through this phase.
"I'm not sure where we go when we pass through this place, I'm not very sure, but there's one thing I am sure of: if there is a place, then there's one hell of a party there tonight."
Denn captain Bernard Gaffney's speech after winning Cavan JFC final
Back in August, Denn had lost the delayed 2020 junior final to Templeport, but for a club which had hit a low point two years previous, it was just another step.
"A cold, wet, misty night in late January 2020, we gathered back to start training," said Gaffney.
"It had been 18 years since we brought a cup back to Denn at senior level. In that 18 years, we hit almost the top of the table in Cavan. We got to senior county finals.
"In 2019, we didn't even qualify for the quarters at junior level. We'd hit rock bottom. In life, over time, you hit rock bottom every now and again, and you hit the highs. The important thing is to have good people around you."
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