Nobody told Meath captain Shauna Ennis about the dip which follows the peak.
"I think a lot of us did struggle with it, from a mental side of things," she says about the time which followed Meath's game-changing 2021 All-Ireland ladies football final victory.
"Coming back as All-Ireland champions, it’s a very, very different place. The low you experience after winning an All-Ireland is not something you hear a lot about. But you’re coming off such a high.
"You come off that high, and you go quite low. I found myself going very low afterwards. But we have a great team around us. Our management team, they were brilliant, and they really looked after us.
"There’s a reason a lot of teams don’t do double All-Irelands. It’s very hard to psyche yourself up again. But we’ve managed to do it."
26 July 2022; In attendance at a photocall ahead of the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship Final on Sunday next are Anna Galvin of Kerry and Shauna Ennis of Meath at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Meath have done far more than psyche themselves up. They are back in the All-Ireland senior final, a year after reaching - and winning - their first. This time, it is Kerry who stand in their way.
The chance to freshen the air further after last year's final is there again. For the first time since 2002, neither Cork nor Dublin - both eliminated in the quarter-finals - will contest the decider.
'All they want to talk about is Meath ladies'
"Over the last couple of years, obviously we’ve gotten more attention because of being successful," says Ennis.
"So we’ve gained a lot more supporters. We’re not going to turn any supporters away.
"We want the stands to be full here on Sunday. Look, I think it’s great for the game. As much support as possible – that’s what we want.
"I had people coming up to me last year after the final saying ‘I had never been at a ladies game before. I went to the All-Ireland and I’m not going to miss one of your games next year.’
"And in fairness, we’ve had great support during the league and the championship this year. Hopefully we can keep them now for the foreseeable.
"Anyone you meet, all they want to talk about is the All-Ireland. All they want to talk about is Meath ladies. And a few years ago, when we were in maybe one of our first All-Ireland Intermediate [finals], no one would have batted an eyelid at us.
"No one would have taken a blind bit of notice. Now, all of a sudden, everyone knows you. People are waving at you, and you have no idea who any of these people are!
"So I think that was probably something some of us would have struggled with as well. This new attention that we’re all getting. But look, you take it in your stride. We have a lot of good people around us to keep us grounded."
If you were to judge Sunday's game solely on the roll of honour, it is Kerry who would be favourites. They sit joint top with Cork on 11 titles. Though, the last of those was won 29 years ago.
16 July 2022; Shauna Ennis of Meath in action against Niamh Hegarty of Donegal during the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Senior Championship Semi-Final match between Donegal and Meath at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
"We’re the hunted this year," says Ennis.
"We’re the All-Ireland champions. Everyone going out to play us this year is going to play their best stuff. You've seen that in the quarter against Galway and the semi against Donegal, winning by just a point or two.
"But that’s what we want. We want to be challenged. Hopefully those games will stand to us on Sunday.
"When I started playing with Meath in 2012, 2013 – we were a senior team but we were nowhere near the top end. We weren’t getting to semi-finals or finals.
"And then, when we were relegated down to Intermediate, the thought of a senior All-Ireland wasn’t something you considered in your wildest dreams.
"To have come this far and have achieved that is still something that hasn’t probably sunk in. But we’re focused on Sunday now and trying to get that feeling again."
This Sunday's All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship final will be shown live on TG4 at 4pm.
See Also: Wexford Roll With The Punches To Reach All-Ireland Intermediate Final
