Séamus Harnedy believes Cork never bought into the hype after their league triumph so were able to rebuild their confidence ahead of turning the tables on Limerick in stunning fashion.
The Treaty hammered the then All-Ireland favourites by 16 points at the Gaelic Grounds on 18 May but prevailed in an epic, historic Munster final rematch at the same venue on Saturday for their first provincial title since 2018.
"We did a lot of soul-searching there a couple of weeks ago," the veteran forward told RTÉ Sport.
"We were beaten by 16 points down here. Everyone went back training hard, stuck to the routine. We didn't turn on each other.
"We knew we didn't become a bad team overnight. So we just had to batten down the hatches, go back training hard and doing what serves us best.
"So credit to Pat Ryan, credit to management and credit to the squad as well. Pat's an incredible guy. Win, lose or draw, once you put an honest effort in he's delighted with you. We love playing for him.
"There are highs and lows in sport. Sometimes when things are going very well, people blow you up in the air and when things are going bad, they'll knock you down. But you're always somewhere in the middle.
"We're incredibly happy today."
Also incredibly happy were the thousands of Cork fans who made the journey more in hope than expectation.
"There's serious support in Cork. They only want to get behind this team. It was easy for them not to travel up here after what happened a couple of weeks ago.
"Fair play to them, they turned up again in their droves, and I'm delighted we could give them something back."
Harnedy, who turns 35 next month, scored two points before departing in the 68th minute. His fellow veteran Conor Lehane (32) was one of those called upon in the subsequent extra-time and penalty shootout.
"An incredible game," reflected Harnedy. "It ebbed and flowed throughout. In fairness to Limerick, we got two or three points up and they kept coming back at us.
"I thought our lads showed serious character as well. It was an unbelievable game.
"For any Munster final to be decided on penalties is tough and I feel for them. But it has been a long time. We were trying to stop Limerick doing seven in a row.
"[Lehane] is one of my best buddies over the years and we kind of started around the same time. He got everything he deserved there. He's a top-class player and I'm thrilled for him.
"He stuck a penalty, got two unbelievable points when he came on, kept showing for the ball. But sure we've all seen Connor do that, time in time out. He's invaluable to us."
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