When all is said and done, the current Limerick hurling team are likely to go down as one of the greatest teams the GAA has ever seen.
Their run over the last few years has been remarkable, winning four All-Irelands out of the last five. They are an incredible side, one that is certainly not short on individual talent.
You could have picked any number of PwC Hurler of the Year candidates for 2022 from their ranks. In the end, Diarmaid Byrnes was a deserving winner after an incredible season.
Speaking to GAA.ie, he admitted that it is an award he never even thought about winning.
It's hard to digest, really. Even to be nominated, it took me a while to process that to be honest. Hand on heart, it's something I've never been striving for.
When I was nominated I thought, yeah, it would actually be lovely to win. When you're in that position you're thinking it would be nice to win. I'm here now and it's like, 'woah', you nearly have to take a step back. It will definitely take a while to digest.
In the coming weeks and months when I'm meeting people I'm sure I'll be meeting people that are delighted for me and I can sense that already in Patrickswell. I'm really honoured. It's a fantastic occasion for me as an individual, for my partner, and my family. Because they're the ones closest to me and see my sacrifice. They know when I'm training and the hours I'm gone every week.
To bring it home for the family, first and foremost, is very special.
It is highly unlikely that Limerick will be going away anytime soon.
The age profile within the squad would suggest that they will be competing for All-Irelands for quite a while yet, within the production line within the county also continuing to pump out top quality hurlers.
Byrnes said that the legacy that the team has already crafted will never be taken away, with some brilliant friendships made along the way.
It'll never be taken away. There's no other way around it, it's there now, it's in the history books. We've had the special moments and we have the memories that we have. They're never going away.
I never really look too far into the future, I'm very much a live in the present sort of person because life can pass you by too quickly. But that bond will always be there.
Whether it's going to Bruff and you bump into Sean Finn at a match or you're inside in the city and you meet one of the Na Piarsaigh lads. Any corner of the county where I go in years to come I'll be meeting lads and it won't be just a friendly hello it'll be an aul hug and how are you getting on. And at that stage it might be, 'how's the family?' with kids hanging off us! Please God, please God.
It has been some rise for Limerick and you get the feeling that they're only getting started.
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