Well, this Corkman can no longer say – with a dose of morbid pride – that both the Rebels and Kerry had won the same number of senior football All-Irelands in the past 12 years.

It was always quite likely that the Kingdom would add to their victory of 2014 before Cork made 2010 their second-last title, but the general expectation was that it would take longer than eight years to do so.

However, five consecutive All-Ireland minor wins from 2014-18 failed to translate into even a single final appearance at U21/U20 level, and the senior grade brought disappointments like the Super 8’s loss to Galway in 2018, Cork’s ambush in the 2020 winter championship and the Tyrone semi-final last year.

In golf, the title that no player wants is The Greatest Never to Win a Major. In any sport, “potential” can be a dirty word. It’s a heading you don’t want to have for too long and, the longer the time? goes without it being cashed in for success, the more of a millstone it is.

But now, having come through a campaign where Mayo and Dublin were beaten before Galway were eventually seen off, all of a sudden Kerry stand at the top of the mountain with the prospect of more glory awaiting them.

And while there might be an outpouring of grief at the “ending” of the GAA year, it’s important to remember that hurling and football go beyond what we see on RTÉ.

The nearly-men tags have been brushed aside and the confidence will course through them as they face into a revamped championship for next season.

Galway were underdogs last Sunday but they gave it a hell of a rattle, with Shane Walsh putting in as good a performance as anyone has in an All-Ireland final, win or lose.

They too can take heart from their season and come back with something to build on for 2023. But then, so will all the rest, like Dublin, Mayo, Derry, Tyrone, Armagh, Donegal – the change in format should give us better games over a longer period and make for a superior product.

And while there might be an outpouring of grief at the “ending” of the GAA year, it’s important to remember that hurling and football go beyond what we see on RTÉ.

On The Sunday Game last week, Marty Morrissey commented to GAA President Larry McCarthy that the men’s championship seasons were over but, before he could continue, the Cork native interjected that it was the inter-county season that was over and the club campaign, catering for the 98 percent silent majority, was only just beginning.

So here’s to the next few months of club action and the rich tapestry of stories that it will bring.

Cody says goodbye to Cats

One man who always understood the importance of the club was Brian Cody, who wove spells as selector with his native James Stephens into his 24-year stint as manager of Kilkenny, which came to an end last weekend.

You’ve probably read a few pieces this week that outlined how few people had mobile phones when he was appointed and that five of the team that began this year’s All-Ireland final against Limerick weren’t even born at the time.

The easiest way to illustrate his impact is this: at the end of 1998, Kilkenny had 25 All-Ireland senior titles, behind Cork who had 27 and just ahead of Tipperary, who had 24. Now, the roll of honour reads Kilkenny 36, Cork 30 and Tipp 28.

Kilkenny manager Brian Cody during the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Kilkenny and Limerick at Croke Park in Dublin. \ Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

It’s a cliché to say that we won’t see a person’s like again, but we would be willing to bet a large sum of money that nobody will ever again manage a team for a quarter of a century.

There is probably a school of thought that the person coming after him (former player and selector Derek Lyng appears to be the front-runner) is on a hiding to nothing, but let’s not forget that the Cats finished within two points of one of the best teams of all-time a fortnight ago.

In recent years, Dessie Farrell (Dublin) and Brian Dooher/Feargal Logan (Tyrone) won All-Ireland football titles in their first year in charge; Ephie Fitzgerald did the same with the Cork ladies’ side in 2016, while Matthew Twomey could do the same with the Rebels’ camogie side next Sunday week.

Who’s to say that we won’t be similarly hailing a Kilkenny evolution, rather than revolution, this time next year?

Kerry take on Meath

After Galway won the 2004 All-Ireland Ladies’ SFC, the next 16 titles were divided between Cork (11 wins) and Dublin (five, including a four-in-a-row from 2017-20 inclusive).

It wasn’t until Meath’s superb performance to deny the Dubs’ drive for five last autumn that the hegemony of the “big two” was ended and now Sunday’s final in Croke Park is the first since 2002 that doesn’t feature either Cork or Dublin – indeed, neither of them even made the semi-finals.

Kerry, once the queenpins of the sport, winning every title from 1982-90, are the challengers, in a first final since 2012 and looking for a first win since 1993.

One can understand why women in their 20s would want to take the opportunity to earn a living from playing sport while seeing some of the world

They overcame Armagh and Mayo in the knockout stages, while Meath – winners of the intermediate championship in December 2020 – have gone from strength to strength.

Though they lost the Leinster final to Dublin after beating them in the provincial round-robin, they emerged from a group featuring Armagh and Monaghan in the All-Ireland group stage and then beat Galway in the quarter-finals before seeing off Donegal in the semis.

The game will be a farewell for Meath star Vikki Wall, who is set to move to Australia to play in the AFLW with North Melbourne. She is one of a growing band of Irish players heading Down Under – a compliment to the skill level of ladies’ football, but also a major challenge in terms of keeping it that way.

Meath manager Eamonn Murray certainly isn’t a fan of AFLW, saying earlier this year: “I don’t know why you’d want to play that sport because it’s dreadful stuff to watch. There’s no skill at all.”

One can understand why women in their 20s would want to take the opportunity to earn a living from playing sport while seeing some of the world, but that’s a debate for another day. The Meath faithful will hope that Wall can sign off with a victory.