Now in his 13th year as an intercounty senior player, Carlow goalkeeper Brian Tracey knows the good days have to be enjoyed when they come along.
And one of those days certainly came along last Sunday when his team beat Waterford in the Allianz hurling league; their first senior hurling competitive win over the Déise.
The Division 1B second round victory at Netwatch Cullen Park was deserved, and something they were striving for, their talented goalkeeper says.
"Look that result at the weekend probably came as a shock to a lot of people in the GAA world but it is probably something that we needed as a squad," Tracey tells RTÉ Sport.
"We have been under the management of Tom (Mullally) and Christy (Kealy) for the last few years, five now, and in the past, we showed glimpses of our potential.
"So to beat Waterford was probably just reward for this group of players who have been there over the last few years."
It's a small pool that Carlow hurling draws from.
They only have five senior clubs but work is ongoing trying to build new hurling generations and the county board and Games Development Administrators are working hard in that regard, visiting schools and trying to build from there up.
But it’s a special group of hurlers that has served the county over the past 10 years, with a number of them having retired in recent seasons and other players possibly coming near the end of their own road in coming years.
"The mindset for us from day one has been that when you get your jersey, you then try to leave it in a better place when you finish up," Tracey says.
"I think that speaks for everyone across the GAA.
"That’s the main factor to what we are about in Carlow."
Mullaly has done a fine job with the Carlow team, building on the work of Colm Bonnar before him, and John Meyler before him again.
He played a huge role in the success of Mount Leinster Rangers some years ago and has also made an impressive mark during his time in charge of the Naas hurlers.
Another help along the way was the prominent number of Carlow players figuring in the Fitzgibbon Cup for the local college SETU Carlow.
In 2019, another milestone was reached when St Mullin's became only the county's second club to reach a Leinster senior final.
"There is a lot of good work ongoing," Tracey says. "Lorcan Doyle became the first Burren Rangers man to make his senior debut with us and that was brilliant progress.
"We need clubs to keep pushing on
"Everyone knows it doesn’t last forever, your playing career, so you do it when you can for as long as you can. And you do it because you love it.
"With country clubs, we all know the difficulty there in keeping numbers to decent level, that’s the big thing, but all the clubs here are doing their best, so too are the GDA officers and county board who are trying their hardest to get around to all the schools and keep promoting the game in the county."
Tracey says that plenty of fun was had after the Waterford result on Sunday night.
The team doesn’t play again now for three weeks.
"That’s part of it too, a really important part," he says.
"We had plenty of good days but some bad days too and you have to be able to enjoy the good days because they are few and far between in sport.
"On the Carlow team we are all friends and close knit. Some lads are the best of friends. Club rivalries are still massive when we go back and put on the club jersey but the beauty of it is that, for the vast majority, once the final whistle is blown, we are all friends again.
"That’s a huge part of it. We come together and there are no divides. All one big family."
From the outside, Tracey agrees that the best help counties like their own could get would be some grace once they emerge from the Joe MacDonagh Cup.
Carlow have yo-yoed over the years and he says it would be massive if they were exempt from relegation for their first season at Liam MacCarthy Cup level.
"It would be hugely positive if we – or any of the counties that win the Joe MacDonagh Cup - had that one year’s grace when they reached the top level," he says.
"How that structurally would work, I’ll leave to the hierarchy in the GAA.
"In fairness, Antrim are showing that they are up there and holding their own.
"For likes of ourselves, Westmeath, Laois, those teams who are trying to progress up that next step on the ladder, to probably get two years up there would be of huge benefit.
"The Joe MacDonagh Cup is definitely one of the most exciting around, but as a player you want to be at the top level for as long as you can and get as much exposure and that’s the only way you're going to improve at the very highest grade."
