Joanne Ryan has revealed how the Tipperary camogie team have bounced back from the nightmare of last season.
It is not long ago that Tipp were one of the top sides in the game after they won four of the first five All-Ireland finals of the new millennium.
But slowly things started to slide for the Premier County as they were left in the shadows of other counties, although admittedly their cause was not helped by the loss of several influential players to retirement over a number of years.
Last term was punctuated by a series of lows both on and off the pitch as the glory days became more and more of a distant memory.
Manager Eoin Kennedy was axed following the National League - apparently over difficulties between him and the county board - before he was dramatically reinstated after the players threatened to pull out of the All-Ireland Championship that was coming up.
However the Championship proved to be a major disappointment as they lost all four of the games the played in the group phase.
The early part of this season did not go too well either as Tipperary, with new boss Brian Boyle having taken the reins before it began, failed to win a point in the Irish Daily Star League.
But they turned the corner in the Championship, winning three of their four games to claim the runners-up spot in Group 2 as they deservedly booked a place in the quarter-finals.
And long-serving Ryan - the only member of the squad that won Tipperary's last All-Ireland title in 2004 who is still playing with the county - says she feels last year's problems helped them to make the knockout stages this time around.
She recalled: "Last year was a real low for everyone who was involved with Tipperary, but rather than dwelling on what had happened, we quickly closed that particular chapter and sought to move on to hopefully write a much better one.
"We knew the only way was up and while this year’s League was a let-down for us, we felt we were going in the right direction as the new management got to know the players better and vice versa. That has been proved by how we have fared in the Championship and there is a lot of optimism in the camp now.
"And while we know it might take another year or two before we are in a position to truly challenge for the top honours again, there are strong foundations in place to build on."
Boyle and the rest of the management team have moulded a Tipperary squad that has quite a youthful look to it.
Some of the players had little or no experience of playing at this level before the season began. And Ryan said that helped to make up her mind to stick at it this year.
Ryan said: "When I joined the Tipperary squad for the first time 11 years ago I was one of the younger players in it.
"Others, who had been playing for quite a while, were good to me in making it as easy as possible for me to settle in.
"Perhaps I could have opted out after last season but I was happy to stay on and look to give something back by helping the younger players, just like others did for me in the past.
"We are fortunate to have some fine players who can go on to lead Tipperary to bigger and better things in the not-too-distant future."
The next step on the learning curve for Tipperary's up-and-coming stars will be the quarter-final showdown with Cork in the Liberty Insurance Championship.
Cork are chasing a second All-Ireland in a row and midfielder Ryan knows the clash with their Munster rivals at Semple Stadium on Saturday is likely to be a big challenge for Tipperary.
She added: "Cork have been fantastic over the last few years and unfortunately we have struggled against them in the Championship.
"But while this is a game we will be going out to try and win, we know we will go into it as the underdogs and there will be more pressure on them. Given that we did so poorly in the competition last year, we are in bonus territory having got this far.
"It will be a chance for us to get a better idea of how far we have come and for the younger players to gain some valuable experience."
