Perhaps a little more nervy than expected before today's All-Ireland football final, Dublin nevertheless did what most predicted and claimed their fourth title in succession.
Despite a resilient performance from Tyrone, Jim Gavin's men ultimately had too much for the challengers and the nature of this rare achievement struck one Dublin player as particularly poignant.
Speaking to RTÉ post-match, an emotional James McCarthy spoke of what this fourth successive All-Ireland final meant to this team. Claiming what is his 6th medal in total, McCarthy couldn't help but reflect on what this meant to a 'tight group that had been playing together for eight, nine years.'
I'm lost for words, it's special. ... We're just so happy, so happy. [As a group] we do everything together. We train hard together, we socialise together, we're best friends, we go to each others' weddings ... so, when all the work comes together for this, it's special you know.
Although much of the post-match analysis focused on the young profile of a Dublin team that appears to be only getting more efficiently ruthless with each passing championship year, McCarthy, along with the likes of Stephen Cluxton, Cian O'Sullivan, Michael Dara MacAuley, Philly McMahon, Kevin McManamon etc, are part of a clutch of Dublin players who have been integral to the county's success throughout this decade.
Considering some of the recent additions to the squad like Brian Howard and Eoin Murchan, McCarthy hailed such arrivals as 'giving the whole squad a lift,' and, in practice it appears to be an assessment that has played out in recent years.
At 28-years-old, the Ballymun Kickhams man is indicative of the determination to improve that is required to remain pertinent within a fairly ruthless Dublin set-up.
