A month ago, Belfast club St John's ended over half a century of frustration to become champions of Antrim once again when they beat Loughgiel Shamrocks in Ballycastle.
St John’s did all they had to do; they won every dirty ball and came out on top in an absolute dogfight and the emotion that greeted the final whistle filled the October air.
For the next week celebrations were hectic. Unsurprisingly.
Mind you, goalkeeper Domhnall Nugent wasn’t part of the Monday Club, nor the Tuesday Club, or any other club that week.
After years of fighting addiction for alcohol and cocaine, and experiencing homelessness, he had seen too much and travelled too far to risk being part of the exuberance.
He took himself off for a bit of sun.
"It was a sweet holiday," he said, smiling.
"It was good. And I think that we spoke in the past about recovery, so it was in my plans just to book a flight around 7am the next morning and get out of the way from Monday clubs and different things like that."
He deserved the break. In the past, life has been tough.
He was drifting for a while. Summers were spent in Boston or the UK, he reckons he was more or less hiding.
Prior to leaving for England, he also left his club, St John's, for their chief rivals Lamh Dhearg, a move you rarely see in the GAA world.
He played for the new club in the 2017 Antrim SFC final, predictably enough against St John's. Padraig, his brother, was in goals for St John's and Lamh Dhearg prevailed to win. It was a turbulent game with a messy ending, and his adopted club prevailed.
But when he reflected there was simply no solace to be found in that win. It was just a messy period in his life.
He faced a crossroads. "There were two options," he reflected at the time. "Go ahead on the road you were on, the one that would kill you, or go get help."
He sought help. The Gaelic Players Association was one of the first to offer it. Others came to the fore too.
He signed into Cuan Mhuire, the rehab clinic, spent three months there and wrote in his journal at the end of every day.
He would always sign off with a message to himself.
"Be excited about who you want to become."
We chat now again years later.
He is six and a half years sober.
He's won a Joe MacDonagh Cup with Antrim, coaches the Down camogie team, is in a steady job and relationship, has overcome an ACL injury and reinvented himself as a goalkeeper.
And then there’s the club. The Johnnies. His own club. No matter what happened in 2017.
Tonight, they take on Setanta at Owenbeg for a place in the Ulster hurling final.
Nugent is their goalkeeper. And he’s also back in contention for a place on the Antrim squad again.
Those messages to himself at Cuan Mhuire paid off. He is excited about who he has become.
"I am," he says, smiling.
"We spoke in the past about getting to that point. But there’s no real destination for me, I am just taking it as it comes.
"Just be excited about who you want to become. Like, when you're lying in bed at night or whatever and trying to get to sleep, it is no harm to dream big.
"Winning an Antrim hurling title was in my head for a long time and I genuinely didn't think it would happen - even as close as six months ago. I wasn't even playing with the club as I was coming back from a cruciate injury and probably extremely overweight again at that stage.
"I was just focusing on coaching and it was hard for me and I didn't really have the motivation to do another rehab again, you know. But I kept hanging on to that mantra about being excited and that’s what kept me going."
"You know, I'm 28, not 38. It was possible to come back again (he had suffered several injuries in the past). You know, it's possible that if I really want to do this, they can do it.
"And the club just put a lot of energy into trying to get back. Everyone on the team has been through a lot, you know what I mean? Everyone's had adversity. Even if you're sorely just talking about hurling."
For Nugent, a child star in both codes and a much-heralded youth, there is nothing like playing.
Even if he loves coaching.
"At the end of the day you can manage teams and you can do this and you can provide an environment for people to thrive and all this sort of thing. But whenever you're on the pitch and you get that buzz like it's unbelievable. So no, I'm so happy like I'm proud of myself."
Nugent is quick to mention Simon Doherty, the longstanding St John’s keeper whose place he took.
Doherty also served between the posts for Armagh for 13 years and was a Champion 15 All Star winner in 2019, as well as helping Armagh to Nicky Rackard Cup success in 2012 when they defeated Louth at Croke Park.
Doherty, who also won Division 2B National League with the county in 2016, is a St John’s stalwart. He got injured in the league, Nugent was coming back from his ACL and tried out there, excelled and has stayed there since.
"Just the way Simon has encouraged me and supported me, and just how he is and how he carries himself is incredible," Nugent points out.
The journey continues in Owenbeg this evening.
Nugent has no idea what lies ahead, or where the end point will be.
"Jesus, I don't know," he admits.
"If you've one foot yesterday and one foot tomorrow, you're wasting all the day and do you know what? I try to keep it in the present to try not to look too far ahead.
"But even sitting on holidays and reflecting. You have to be proud, not just for hurling and stuff, but in life. And it's good just to be in a good place where you can have good conversations.
"Put your head in the pillow and dream about winning championships. It's good that I could do that because some people around the country can't do that because there's so much going on in the world and everyone has their struggles.
"I just feel really, really good to be in a place of clarity. It's nice."
And boy is it deserved.
Watch Athy v Summerhill in the AIB Leinster Club Football Championship on Saturday from 5pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
