"It was real, old Offaly, that's what I would say". The words of Michael Duignan after the Faithful got the better of Meath in Sunday's Leinster SFC quarter-final.
A strong first-half showing, where the midlanders built up a 1-08 to 0-02 advantage come the break, was enough of a cushion to eventually see out the deal at Glenisk O'Connor Park.
A deserved win, and now Offaly stand 70 minutes away from a place in the All-Ireland round-robin phase.
After the county's hurling side had dopped down to the Christy Ring Cup, Michael Duignan felt it was time to act. "It was time to step up and do something about things," he told RTÉ Sport as to the resons why he took on the role of chairperson.
And now being present for a notable win that sees the footballers heading to Croke Park for a date with Louth is another indication that the dark clouds that did hang over the county are further dissipting. "We're a small county, a county that's wants to be competitive in both codes," he added.
In recent times, Duignan can point to further progress under his watch: an All-Ireland U-20 success in football in 2021 and the hurlers reaching last year's All-Ireland minor final, where they agonisingly lost to Tipperary. So far this season, the senior hurlers won promotion back to the league's top flight and are unbeaten in the Joe McDonagh Cup after three games. The highly regarded Johnny Kelly is certainly showing the way as coach.
"The Joe McDonagh is now our All-Ireland and we are looking no further than Kerry the next day. After getting up to Division 1 we know how important it is to stay at that top level. We have a good sprinking of young lads coming through and our minors are showing a lot of promise. It could take three to five years for us to be competitive at the top level, but that's being realistic. We don't want to be a yo-yo team."
Pride in the jersey is an often used cliche in the GAA world. Duignan accepts that, but it was something he highlighted in the win over Meath.
"That's where the 'real, old Offaly' line came from. You could see the pride, you could see the heart that was there against Meath. It was one of the biggest days we've had in Tullamore in a long, long time. Meath aren't going that well at the moment, but they bring with them a huge tradition, but we in Offaly also have a huge tradition.
"We fought hard on Sunday, we tackled hard, there were a few schemozzles on the sideline. Again, that's old Offaly for you, with a big crowd urging them on. Those are the days that you want; I came back to make those days happen again.
"We've a lot of brilliant footballers in Offaly; it's just a case of getting them to believe themselves, I think we lacked confidence in certain games."
After Liam Kearns' untimely death in March, Martin Murphy came in as manager.
Duignan was full of praise for the work Murphy and his management of team of John Rouse and Alan Flynn have put in since their appointment.
"It was a big knock when Liam died; things for a week or two were very much all over the place, but since then and paricularly in the lead up the Meath game, Martin and the boys have really cranked things up in terms of training and getting the players to believe that they could win. You could really see the confidence growing. They could see the hurlers doing well and they didn't want to be left out."
In the day after Liam Kearns' passing, Duignan said that the Kerry native was "a straight talker, very organised and knew what he wanted". He also added that Kearns was plotting Meath's downfall well in advance of Sunday's clash.
"If we could get over Longford, then Liam felt we could then take Meath. It was a game he felt we could win. I'm just glad the players went out and got the win for him; it was a fitting way for them to honour Liam, and to show that they could deliver a performance the county has been craving for."
Next up is Mickey Harte's rejuvenated Louth. It's a short turnaround, and the hope is that Rory Egan and Bernard Allen will be fit for the Croker clash after picking up injuries.
For the Offaly GAA supremo, who has two All-Ireland medals to his name, it's about showing the spirit that characterised the teams he played for in the 1990s.
"We celebrated the win over Meath, and you should celebrate it. Now we have to go again, we have to show the same effort, the same application, the same drive against Louth. Old Offaly has to be there again, both on the pitch and off it. We'd love to have another big day in Croker after Sunday but it's great that you're in a position that you're yearning for such days."
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