Kevin Burke: 'You don't even think about the All-Ireland series'

Tommy Moore, on the other hand, was a prize too far off in the distance for a club who had never even won a county championship before last October to begin contemplating and realistically aspiring toward. Na Fianna knew their limit. Or at least they thought they did.

There was heartbreak before the breakthrough. In the club’s debut county final appearance in 2021, they let slip a nine-point lead with as many minutes remaining. They ended up losing by seven after extra-time. A year later, Kilmacud Crokes again bettered them on the deciding afternoon.

Maiden Dublin honours were secured at the third attempt in 2023. Raharney and Naas were subsequently conquered as Na Fianna’s season finished one point adrift of O’Loughlin Gaels in the Leinster decider.

A second shot at Leinster this winter didn’t seem likely when trailing old adversaries Kilmacud Crokes by two points three minutes into injury-time at the end of the Dublin county final.

One Ciarán Stacey winning goal and seven glorious weeks later, they now find themselves preparing for Croke Park on All-Ireland club final afternoon. Just the second Dublin club in history to find themselves preparing for All-Ireland final afternoon.

"It's hard to believe,” full-back Kevin Burke began.

“It's not something we had ever really thought about. You focus on Dublin and then maybe Leinster, but you don't even think about the All-Ireland series.

“We knew it was going to be so tough against Loughrea. We just had to get through it and get to January. We crawled over the line. It would have been nice to have done it a bit more comfortably, but we're delighted to get through.

“It doesn't even feel like Christmas because we're still playing. Usually, you're finished up in October or November, if you're lucky. But the fact that we're still playing, it doesn't even feel like Christmas.” 

Their Christmas table would have been laden with regret had the journey ended in Thurles. They had managed only four points - two of those frees - by the 29th minute. They still hadn’t hit double digits entering the final quarter. They were incredibly late showing up. And yet, somehow, the journey continues.

“We were just slow to start, and we were kind of in no man's land,” Burke continued. “Their half-forward line were getting on a lot of ball and there was a lot of space in front of our full-back line. It took a serious shift to contain them to ten points in the first-half.

“We were lucky to only be four points behind at half-time and we said that. We were let off the hook that it wasn't six or seven points. The mountain wasn't too high to climb. We knew we just had to keep working away and keep the scoreboard ticking.

“To be fair, they never really got too far ahead of us. That was nice to know. It was still within reach, even though we weren't playing anywhere near to the best of our abilities. It made it easier for us to keep the faith.

“We kept trying to get the next score. It wasn't taking anything miraculous, it was just about doing the simple things.

"The pitch was in good condition. We just had to keep it simple and keep the scoreboard ticking. I just kind of had a sense that if we kept doing that then we'd catch them. Thankfully we managed it at the end.”