There have been landmark days for Kildare hurling in recent times, days when the toil and effort of a small, but committed community paid off.
Days like the one in early July 2021 when Liam Dempsey scored 14 points as they pulled off a big upset by defeating Wexford by a point
Or when they pushed Offaly to three points in the 2023 Division 1A hurling league final at Portlaoise.
But most likely there has never been a landmark fortnight like the one just passed when they beat Carlow before accounting for Laois last weekend.
That's wins over two teams who have Liam MacCarthy experience and Joe McDonagh Cup success.
At the start of the season retaining their McDonagh Cup status would have been considered a realistic goal. Instead, a win over Down (who have been their bogey team) at the weekend and Kildare will find themselves in a McDonagh Cup final.
Similar to the work Down have put in, such progress would be fitting for Kildare.
Across the past 15 years various senior managers have come in and put their shoulder to the wheel, all driving the county forward. Willie Sutherland was there before Tipperary man Brian Lawlor came in and led them to an historic Christy Ring title in 2014.
Two-time All Star Joe Quaid arrived and raised the profile, leading them to another Ring title and some other memorable days.
After that it was over to two Kilkenny men for subsequent tenures. David Herity took charge from 2018-2023 while Brian Dowling has the reins at the moment.
The sport is also growing within the county. There are more clubs, more players and more opportunities to play. There are good coaches and that means more players want to play.
In addition, the development squad system is working and a pathway to senior hurling has been identified.
Since the Christy Ring Cup was introduced, Kildare have won it five times, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. They have played 78 games in the competition and won 52.
The last two years had seen them win 10 out of 10 Christy Ring matches but they had failed to win any of their eight games in the McDonagh Cup
That has been addressed this year and now their sights are on progression in the second tier, sustaining a foot-hold there and building further.
They look well equipped to navigate the terrain ahead of them.
"The progress has been two-fold," says former Kildare full back and county GDO John Doran.
"Various managers have come in and helped and David Herity then brought in a huge level of professionalism and the work has continued from there.
"In addition, hurlers are coming through the Kildare underage system and have been added to the senior set-up. The players that David Herity introduced are a few years older now and established and they're leading the way.
"As well as that, there are more clubs playing. A few years ago there may have been but two or three teams at Division 1 level underage but now there are five or six and it’s a lot tighter between teams. The other divisions have filled up also.
"That backs everything up. Add in the player pathway, the great work that Brian Dowling is overseeing and the environment he has created, and the structures look to be working.
"There were always good hurlers in Kildare," Doran said, "but they might have arrived sporadically. The trick now is to get fixtures aligned for those who play football too and get the players coming at a more consistent level and I think you will see that happening in the next few years.
"Over the next 10 years we would be hoping for that consistency and to develop even further."
Numbers are up at underage nursery level, and the spread of clubs is getting wider. In recent seasons the county under 14 squad comprised 18 clubs.
Around the same time, the Kildare minors had 13 clubs represented whereas in the past it may have been as low as four or five.
At minor league level, Kildare had 14 teams playing. A decade ago it would have been six.
Initially, the Kildare Hurling Action Plan which started in 2018, split into three strands – club hurling development, club-school links, and building a club hurling profile.
Another very successful programme was Camán Let's Hurl, a before or after school hurling programme for third for four class children where boys and girls got a six week block of training which is run by a full-time Kildare GAA Games Promotion Officer, a school staff member, and a local club volunteer.
People like Paul Condon have driven hurling at Round Towers in Kildare town, Cappagh are developing very well also, and Two Mile House have built from underage to minor.
Demographics will play a huge role in the county’s development too, should the structures continue to be harnessed in the proper fashion.
Three years ago the population of Kildare was 246,977, making it the fifth most populous area in Ireland.
That number has surely grown well past that in recent years. It means there is huge scope for hurling to develop even further.
"For us it's just about giving the clubs and volunteers more support to keep the progression going," Doran says.
"There are a lot of good people working and pushing hard."
The success of Naas has been a huge help in driving standards.
Along with their domestic campaigns, their hurlers also play in Dublin up to Under-12, and then in Kilkenny between Under-14 and minor.
As recently as Monday night, the Naas U14 team recorded a win over John Lockes in the Kilkenny league, whilst below them the Under 12s continue to play in Dublin.
In 2001, Naas won their fifth ever Kildare senior hurling championship. The current senior team has now won six Kildare county titles in a row and landed an All-Ireland intermediate title in the process.
Kildare players are also getting more prominent in second and third-level competitions.
And at the top of the tree, Dowling is driving on a senior team that is playing some fine hurling.
Led brilliantly by Rian Boran, their captain and full-back, and players like David Qualter and Jack Sheridan, Kildare now stand close to a MacDonagh Cup final appearance.
On three occasions this summer there has been a Kildare player on the GAA Team of the Week as they got over an agonisingly narrow defeat to Kerry to beat Westmeath, Carlow and Laois.
To reach a final won’t be easy – not against a proud and resilient Down team – but either way the development work will continue with the belief that more young players are coming through the system and eager to drive the machine on.
