In 1997, Shane Elliott made three-point blank saves to help Dunloy Cuchullains beat O'Donovan Rossa and clinch the Antrim senior hurling title.
Elliott made the saves at a period when it seemed like Rossa were on their way to a famous win.
The display earned him player of the match recognition, even though team-mate Ally Elliott had put on a virtuoso display and full-forward Gregory O'Kane chalked up an impressive 1-09.
On Sunday, O’Kane will manage the side at Croke Park while Elliott’s son, Ryan, takes the number one shirt as Dunloy face Ballyhale Shamrocks in the 2022-23 AIB All-Ireland SHC club final.
Ryan is playing because of a love of the game handed down to him by his dad. And Shane got that same love from his father, Seamus, who coached Dunloy to a famous county title win in 1990.
Ryan’s cousins, Nigel and Seaan, are both members of the Dunloy’s final squad too.
Family bonds as strong as steel.
"It’s what the club is all about," says Shane Elliott. "You see it all over Ireland where family connections drive it on.
"My interest came from my father who, along with a number of others, started a type of development strategy to focus on youth. Those men put together a strategy to focus on underage and bring it all through to senior. That’s how the 1990 success happened and that’s where my love of the game comes from.
"My son’s love for the game comes from there too. I played, my father played, my son plays and down the line I’ll be hoping that his son plays. And above all we are all hoping that on the 22nd we get our just rewards."
Cuchullains played in the All-Ireland club senior hurling finals in 1995, 1996, 2003 and 2004.
Their best chance came in '95 when they drew with Birr before losing the replay. They lost the other deciders too.
They were back in All-Ireland semi-finals in 2008 and 2010 but lost to Birr and Portumna respectively.
From each setback there is a comeback, however.
"You have to come back," Elliott says.
"You must learn from your disappointments. We have had a lot of success but we have had more disappointments. We should have won in '95, I think. We have a great semi-final record but we didn’t always perform in finals, or do ourselves justice in how we performed. We are all hoping that the team we have now will do themselves justice."
They are up against it, they know that, up against the giants of the club game. But they believe in the team and the character of the players.
"We have a great team and a great balance," Shane says. "Gregory has done a great job. From the ages of six to eight we knew we had quite a talented bunch on our hands but talent alone will win you nothing. Gregory has them physically and mentally ready for games and that’s taken a few years.
"This team won its first county championship four years ago and maybe it was too soon for them to push on. Like us in 1990, success happened sooner than expected and people expected too much. Now these guys are the right age category and have the right balance, younger guys and the experienced lads.
"We are better equipped to play these games and credit to Gregory and his management team for having us in a place where we can challenge.
"I still think improvement is there. We have got through games grinding them out, against Slaughtneil especially, but we hurled much better against St Thomas’ and we all know what the lads are capable of."
The victory over Slaughtneil was, according to Elliot's son, a monkey off their backs after losing to them in 2017, 2019 and last year.
They're hopeful that it has given the squad the belief that they can finally lift the Tommy Moore Cup, becoming just the second Ulster side to do so, after so much heartbreak in the past.
"They beat us three times," the current goalkeeper says of their defeats to the Derry club in Ulster.
"Maybe we were too young the first year, people thought it might come naturally the following years but no, they're an unbelievable side too, and it took a lot to get over them, and it's filled us with confidence really, since beating them.
Thoughts from @DunloyGAC ahead of their All-Ireland club hurling final against @BallyhaleGA where the class of 2023 are looking to inspire future generations @LawlorDamian #rtegaa #rtenews pic.twitter.com/sxOrdzUBA9
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) January 19, 2023
"People were saying we didn't have a chance in the Ulster final against Slaughtneil, and the same for the semi-final against Thomas' and we overcame them hurdles.
"I think that was weighing on our backs like. We were the first Dunloy team to lose an Ulster championship match, in 2017, and that added its own pressure to us. That weight is off our shoulders now, we got over the line in Ulster and now we're in an All-Ireland final, which is good.
"We know it's a massive task ahead, I don't know how many All-Stars they have but they're an unbelievable team but we're going to give it everything we have, and hopefully that's enough."
