A month after Mullinalaghta's momentous Leinster club football final win against Kilmacud Crokes, the commotion finally settled down.
This Saturday brings the reward for that victory and sparks the pilot light of excitement in the half parish once again. In the AIB All-Ireland Club Football Championship semi-final, they face Kerry and Munster Champions Dr Crokes in Thurles.
"It was all very surreal there after the Leinster final," says Mullinalaghta captain Shane Mulligan.
"We had a good laugh about it. When we got home to Mullinalaghta, the phones were hopping in the days after.
"The President wrote to us, Leo Varadkar wrote to us. Next thing, the Late Late were on and wanted us to come on. The team WhatsApp was hopping. It was good sport and a great way to celebrate it.
"Once you got through Christmas it all died down so January was back to training and focus the minds.
"It was heavy going for a while. You were here, there and everywhere after that; getting to schools and medal presentations. Lads were happy to get back to training."
By the time training resumed, manager Mickey Graham had additional, inter-county concerns. He was also now Cavan boss with his home county's first fixture of division one just weeks away.
"We haven’t seen him since the Leinster final," jokes Mulligan.
We’ve a cardboard cut out that we stand out in the middle of the pitch. We spin it around every so often.
Ah no, the pressure is probably on Mickey but to be fair he’s doing a great juggling act. Obviously, division one is up and running but we’ve been getting the work done as well.
You’d probably have to ask his wife has she seen Mickey [at all], more than ask us. It’s probably [all travel] from Breffni Park to The Laurels.
Just winning their first Longford SFC title in 66 years back in 2016 was Mullinalaghta punching above their weight. They have since delivered the KO punch in the county twice more.
The Leinster final build-up was the story of David (Mullinaghta with its population of approximately 440) versus Goliath (Kilmacud Crokes with its membership of nearly 5,000). While in population terms it looked a mismatch, and also, to some, one on the pitch, it was a different case in the Mullinalaghta dressing room.
"I suppose it was one of those things, ‘Isn’t it great to see them there?’, ‘Hopefully they won’t be beat off the pitch and they’ll represent themselves well’.
"But within the dressing room, when we broke it down – the same as we break down every game – we felt that we had enough talent to get the win.
"That’s all we really concentrate on. I know you have all the other external factors outside the dressing room, the community and media and things like that, but when we close the door on the dressing room we only concentrate on ourselves and what we can control."
That will again be the case this week against 2017 winners Dr Crokes. While the three-in-a-row Kerry champions have a panel packed with Kingdom stars past and present - they can even afford to spring Colm Cooper off the bench - Mullinalaghta will not be blinded by the sparkle.
What they can't control: the actions of the Longford Chamber of Commerce. It was decided last month that the St. Patrick's Day parade in Longford town would be postponed until March 18th to avoid a possible clash with the All-Ireland club football final - one which would feature Mullinalaghta. Some uproar followed and a final decision on whether or not to defer the parade will now be taken following Saturday's semi-final.
"I heard it actually on the way to work the other day," says Mulligan,
I think it was on the national [news]. I said, 'This is definitely tempting faith if ever they were moving the St Patrick's Day parade.'
It hasn't been mentioned in the dressing room. It has nothing to do with us and we haven't influenced it or requested it. I'm sure there's probably people around Longford giving out that we're trying to take over the place but we'll be trying to just look after Saturday and St Patrick's Day will look after itself.
Mulligan has friends coming home from the US for the weekend's game. No doubt they will not be the only ones descending on Semple from Mullinalaghta and beyond.
"I said that after the [Leinster final] game, when you looked down on the pitch - I'd a great bird's-eye view from up in the stand - the colour that was down there [was great] and you'd so many people from Cavan and Longford.
"You had people that moved away from the parish years ago and they would be names on old teamsheets. It's great to see them back and involved with the club in that way, to be there and to be able to get the maroon and white out again."
Above: Dr Crokes’ Fionn Fitzgerald, left, and Mullinalaghta St Columba’s Shane Mulligan are pictured ahead of the AIB GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Club Championship Semi-Final taking place at Semple Stadium on Saturday, February 16th. Having extended their sponsorship of both Club and County for another five years in 2018, AIB is pleased to continue its sponsorship of the GAA Club Championships for a 29th consecutive year. For exclusive content and behind the scenes action throughout the AIB GAA & Camogie Club Championships follow AIB GAA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Photos by Sportsfile
