When it was pointed out to Dublin's Greg McEneaney that he was standing a yard away from the door Aidan Forker carried the Sam Maguire through eight months earlier for Armagh’s post All-Ireland banquet, he had no problem saying that it was a scene he hoped to replicate an hour down the road this July.
Usually the thought of asking a player about All-Ireland ambitions at this stage of the season would be met with a safe return, but the Skerries Harps’ is refreshingly open about what he wants to achieve – and he has the talent to back that up.
Now in his third year with Dessie Farrell’s squad, he already has an All-Ireland win on the CV, but that came as part of the extended panel back in 2023. Any Dublin assault on Sam this season is likely to involve a more central role.
That’s already been clear in the early part of the season with McEneaney kicking two points from half-back in each of the side’s first three Division 1 games. Recent weeks saw county duty mixed with college commitments as he starred in DCU’s run to the Sigerson crown, but it’s all about Dublin now and the player has no problem aiming high.
"We haven’t really talked about it but I think it’s on the back of everyone’s minds," McEneaney, speaking at an Allianz League media event at the Carrickdale Hotel in Louth, said of their All-Ireland ambitions.
"We want to win the championship, I think every team does, every player does. That’s why you play football, that’s why you represent your county, represent your people in the county.
"You do it to give back to the county and to give the good days to the county."
That silverware ambition extends to league titles too. He, after all, was the player who smuggled home a 94th minute goal to force last year’s epic Division 1 final against Derry to penalties, although the Ulster side would eventually triumph.
Mickey Harte’s side were tipped as potential Sam Maguire favourites after that, but Donegal took them apart at Celtic Park a few weeks later in their Ulster opener and their season nose-dived with Harte vacating the job just four months later.
That trajectory has led to suggestions that some teams would prefer to avoid another intense fixture at HQ on the mouth of championship, but McEneaney treats such a notion with contempt as they prepare for an away day to Tyrone this weekend that may end with another final berth.
"It’s an extra game against the best opposition at the minute, why wouldn’t we want to be there?
"We want to win everything we are a part of and that’s just the DNA we have. It (the final) is something we definitely, definitely want to be in."
"Tyrone are class opposition, there’s no better test; I’m sure they feel the same way about Dublin, hopefully anyway," he added of this weekend’s opposition.
"We’re looking to get into a league final as well so it’s an exciting fixture coming up and no tougher place to go to than Omagh. A few battles down there, a few scraps throughout the years."
Sunday’s trip will come over 23 years after Stephen Cluxton first lined out in the Red Hand County, albeit in Dungannon, as goals from Ray Cosgrove and Alan Brogan were not enough to stop the hosts edging a Division 1A thriller.
Given that Cluxton’s debut came in the previous championship, it means that his return against Galway last weekend confirmed a 23rd season in the sky blue having sat out two years in that spell.
"His debut was in 2001, I was born in 2004 so he had three years under his belt before I was even alive," said McEneaney.
"He’s been unreal to learn of these last couple of years, the way he looks after himself…if he has a bad kick, he can just reset his mind. Picking his brain is something that I love doing and I think everyone does.
"As much as you do admire him, he is a team-mate at the end of the day, he’s going to be there for you and he’s a brilliant team-mate."
Watch Cork v Galway in the Allianz Hurling League on Saturday from 7.20pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
Watch Allianz League Sunday from 10.20pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates around the country on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
