Declan Hannon may have had as many great days on the hurling field as almost any other player in the history of the game, but the five-time All-Ireland winning Limerick captain is also cherishing the tough moments as he retires from the inter-county game.
On Tuesday, the 32-year-old announced that he was closing a 15-year chapter in his life that saw him tick off just about any ambition that a young hurler might harbour.
Five All-Ireland winner's medals as captain, seven Munster titles, two leagues and three All-Stars take pride of place in an overflowing trophy cabinet.
Given how central hurling for Limerick has been in his life, was it a hard decision to bring the curtain down?
"My life outside of hurling is busy. (I'm) probably in Dublin a lot now, so when you look at it that way, it wasn't," he told RTÉ GAA correspondent Marty Morrissey on Wednesday.
"But it's something you've loved for so long and you've journeyed with so many of your best friends for so long that you'll miss that of course.
"You'll miss the camaraderie and the relationships that you've built up over the years. But life goes on. You have to move onto the next thing and plenty of exciting things to come as well."
That being said, the ups and downs from the inter-county career he shared with team-mates, managers and backroom teams will continue to course through his veins.
"Great memories, going back through the years with the different team-mates and different management teams," he said.
"There's plenty of stories to tell. So looking back, fantastic days with friends and family. But of course in the middle of that, there's plenty of tough days as well that you'd often say, 'God, is it worth it all?'
"But that's what makes sport such a beautiful thing that it's not always plain sailing and those hard days make the good days a bit sweeter."
The inter-county career began at the tender age of 17 when Dónal O'Grady called him up first ahead of a debut against Antrim in the Allianz Hurling League in 2010.
"I was doing my Leaving Cert and I'd say mam and dad were probably saying, 'concentrate on the books' or whatever, but we gave it a go and look, it was the start of a nice journey for myself," Hannon recalled.
But it was 2017 when he got shifted back from the forwards and into the half-back line - to very good effect - although that redeployment was also a return to a familiar home, he added.
"Sure, when I was underage I was more of a back than a forward but look, to be honest, if you're asked to play anywhere with Limerick or your club or whatever team you're involved in, then you just have to do it and do it as best you can and see what happens. Touch wood for us it worked out OK," he said.
Hannon described the unprecedented era of successes for Limerick as "great days" - an understatement perhaps considering the heights they have hit under John Kiely - but the 2018 breakthrough when he became the first captain from the county to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup since Éamonn Grimes did so in 1973 remains the standout memory.
"I think it has to be (number one). There was such an outpouring of emotion, particularly for the older generation that had been following Limerick for so long," he said.
"And there had been plenty of bad days, that to just get over the line and for the Liam MacCarthy Cup to come back to Limerick after so long, I think that will always be number one.
"The Covid year was interesting. It was just our group the whole time at training, it was just our group going to games, just our group in Croke Park. I saw a photo earlier on today, an empty Croke Park obviously after the 2020 final, and it was just the whole team and management after getting a photo in the middle of the pitch and there was something beautiful about that as well.
"But you could talk about a lot of good days. Those two were probably the main ones."
Watch the Dublin Senior Hurling Championship final, Na Fianna v Lucan Sarsfields, on Saturday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
