A day after Armagh had defeated Kerry to qualify for last year's All-Ireland final, Ethan Rafferty headed to Cork to take part in the All-Ireland Intermediate Road Bowls Championship.
According to reports, Rafferty made "a series of excellent bowls" to beat Tommy O'Sullivan in the final, with the Armagh goalkeeper posting on X "One down, one to go".
🏆Ethan Rafferty, All-Ireland Road Bowls Champion 🟠⚪️👏👏
— Armagh_GAA (@Armagh_GAA) July 14, 2024
🗣️"One down, one to go" 💪
Congratulations Ethan 🤜🤛 pic.twitter.com/o68FmbY15q
And it was indeed a double for the Orchard County as Kieran McGeeney's side claimed Sam Maguire for the second time when beating Galway.
Rafferty, however, was not between the posts on that joyous day at Croke Park. The Grange clubman, who had recovered from a leg break in July 2023, watched on as Blaine Hughes kept a clean sheet. Hughes was No 1 for all of last season but Rafferty has forced his way back in as custodian during the league.
Indeed the implementation of the new rules early on certainly suited the latter, the fly-goalie extraordinaire. His surging runs added immeasurably to the Armagh threat going forward, making the most of the 12v11 advantage. And then came a tweak in the rules where four players have to be kept back and that includes the goalkeeper.
Rafferty's impact stymied somewhat? Well, the 31-year-old has a somewhat more phlegmatic view, as he outlined to RTÉ Sport at the launch of AIB's sponsorship of this year's All-Ireland Football Championship.
"There is obviously a lot of talk about the goalkeeping thing but there were changes elsewhere as well," he said.
"You try to deal with it as best you can. As a collective I think we have the best set of coaches in the country, always looking and watching out for these things, so we would have come to training knowing what changes had been made the night before. You have to adapt to it and then look at the nuances that come with it.
"There are so many changes this year, you could be left behind. I made a Lenten promise this year to try and think of ways to better yourself."
We have mentioned the road bowling and it was one if the things that kept Rafferty's spirits up while he was recovering from that leg break, while not forgetting a very important day.
"There was stuff that got me through it; I had my wedding through the middle of it all," he recalled.
"There are other things going on off the field that you can focus towards, trying to keep fit and healthy. Coming back last year, as much as it was a slow process, it still had its challenges.
"But there are bigger things in life. If you have good people around you, which I had, you can then have as many good days off the field."
And what of the bowls?
"I was a wee bit lucky last year, it was local to me, so it didn't take up too much time. My grandparents were big into it and if you're down around home, my uncle and my mate we'd throw a few shots.
"It's not that strenuous of a sport; it's more technical on the skill side of things. It was a long spin after the Kerry game last year to go the final. I don't know whether I'll go back this year. My mum is Toal and her family are quite big into it; my uncle holds the record with nine official titles. I'll see how the season goes."
And it's a season where he'll be battling for the No 1 jersey with Hughes, but he welcomes that challenge, satisfied that the Armagh squad was strengthened during the league, and also well aware that it "will take a big squad to get you through the summer".
Darragh McMullan, Tomás McCormack, Callum O'Neill are some of the newer names aiming to stake a regular place in the Armagh starting XV and on the collective, Rafferty added: "There's a fight for the No 1 jersey, a fight for the No 5 jersey, look there's a fight to get into our matchday 26 or 30. Whoever gets the call then will be in a right place because they've been made to fight for it.
"If you're not motivated to do well you're going to be caught out, you're going to be in a bad place. I think as a group we are motivating each other. No doubt there are those who will be targeting us but we've got a few targets ourselves and we'll try to meet them head on as best we can.
"Kieran picks players on form. He puts faith in lads who want to play and who give their all for it. If you put your hand up and show you can do it you'll get a go at it."
And so the championship road begins for Armagh against Antrim on Saturday at Corrigan Park. The choice of venue garnered much attention in recent weeks, with Rafferty stating it was only right that the Saffrons kept home advantage.
"It makes no difference to us and if you're an Antrim fan of course you wanted it in Corrigan Park, you got the home draw so you have home advantage"
It's 17 years since Armagh last were crowned Ulster champions. They came close last year, losing after extra-time on penalties against Donegal.
On the upcoming battle to win the Anglo Celt, Rafferty remarked: "We fell at the last hurdle and it wasn't massively talked about after that. You can't say that you wouldn't like one but we have a match this weekend and we are not looking a centimetre past it. If we get one, we get one...and if we don't, we don't. We'll then look towards something bigger in the summer."
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