Limerick All-Star nominee and marauding Newcastle West man Cian Sheehan admits he "fell out of love" with the game after a cruciate ligament injury in 2019 ground his career to a halt.
Sheehan was living in the USA at the time. He sustained the injury when playing a game there and subsequently returned to Ireland for surgery.
The 27-year-old came out the other side of that setback a very different player. A hunger was ignited inside him that burned with a rage he'd never experienced before. He pulled his boots back on - and completely dedicated himself to Gaelic football.
A switch to wing-back with Limerick complemented all of his raw strengths perfectly. Sheehan had a fantastic 2022 with the Treaty, helping them to a Munster SFC final and getting himself on the All-Star short list.
And now, he's aiming to drive Newcastle West to provincial glory when they face Kerry outfit Kerins O'Rahilly's in the AIB Munster GAA Football Senior Club Championship final at Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday night.
"We don't need to use it to fire us up. We're fired up already."
"I took a break from football for a while but I always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to go back and play inter-county one more time," said Sheehan.
"I fell out of love with the game for a small bit but following the cruciate, to be honest, I've just become obsessed with football. It wasn’t like that when I was younger, being on county panels.
"I’ve applied myself a lot better - more mature, more tactically aware, physically I’ve built on that, so I’m in a place now where I haven’t enjoyed football as much before.
"Hopefully, next year will be another improvement."
Saturday's collision under the lights is a mouthwatering prospect. Both sides are packed with grit and ability, and Sheehan is relishing the battle.
"We're not here to make up the numbers," he said. "The Commercials semi-final [which Newcastle West won after extra-time] was a relief more than anything.
"We felt we'd be knocking on the door and it was great to just get over that line. That would give us a lot of confidence."
"I don't mind the underdog tag, playing with Limerick or Newcastle West, I'm used to it. We don't need to use it to fire us up. We're fired up already."
Sheehan was candid about the difference between club and inter-county football. Without playing down how tough it is to prevail against the best clubs in the country, he has not doubts that the challenge of playing championship football with your county is on another level.
"To be honest, it's a huge difference. Your time on the ball, your time to think, there's just more pressure on you.
"It's very hard to get space in inter-county. The step up is just huge. Even the last day against Commercials, that was a very fast, tough game but you'll have more time on the ball than we did anyway, against Kerry for instance, in the Munster final.
"You just don't have a second to breathe."
Saturday is the kind of stage Sheehan craves. He's confident the team possesses the energy, personality and courage to seize their moment and deliver what would be a sweet gloru.
"We've a real mix of ages in the panel but in training you wouldn't really know that there was all these different gaps because everyone just gets on very well," he said.
"We're well able to call each other out. Even if you're young and just in the squad you have the ability to stand up and call out someone else and vice versa. I think we're very comfortable with each other which in the past we may not have been so it's great to see."
