Kildare hurlers: The long and winding road to make it back to the Liam MacCarthy
The Kildare hurlers were so close they could feel it.
It was 49 years ago yesterday when the Lilywhites got ahead of Wexford in the Leinster SHC semi-final, only to fall by four points thanks to the Model County's late surge.
Wexford went on to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Pat Dunney was at the heart of it for Kildare in Athy that day.
"I remember with 10 minutes to go we were very close to winning," said the Raheens great. "Then they got a couple of scores and just held on and won - probably because you weren't in that position before, I suppose.
"They were used to playing at a different level. The effort that we put in to be that close, we just couldn't sustain it for the full length of the game.
"As he was for the county in the previous decade and has been since his playing days ended thanks to the work he has done in administrative roles to foster the sport in the county."
No wonder then that last Saturday at Croke Park was a day to celebrate for Dunney, and that he is so looking forward to today's SHC preliminary quarter-final against Dublin. We'll get to that.
His former team-mate, Noel Burke, recalled the atmosphere in Athy. "There was a real interest in Kildare hurling at that time," said the Ardclough man who was originally from Galway.
"We were there or thereabouts but were good one year and bad the next. It just depended on getting a consistent amount of good lads on the team.
"It was three or four clubs that were always just hanging in at the time. But it's a different story now and it's going well. You need that to have a fair chance at senior level."
Dunney, a successful dual player for the Lilywhites, won an All-Ireland junior hurling title with the Lilywhites in 1962 and again four years later. All-Ireland intermediate and Division 2 success followed in 1969. "We were quite competitive then in the leagues," recalled the Prosperous man. "We were playing the Waterfords, Clares and Galways."
Kildare played in the senior championship for most of the 1970s - taking a break to win the inaugural All-Ireland B competition in '74.
They made it to that 1976 provincial semi-final, beating Dublin along the way in Aughrim, and made it back to the semis against Wexford the following summer.
But they lost to Offaly in 1979 and returned to the B championship, which they won in 1980 - only to be heavily beaten by Galway in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. The next generation hadn't come through to consolidate the progression made.
"All the team had gotten old together," Dunney said. "It ran out of numbers. It can happen, of course. Kildare remained competitive at their own level after that without winning things but then dropped back around the early 2000s.
"That's why what is happening now is important. It's like a school team - you have a period where you have a brilliant team for a few years, then a period when you're not as good.
"That's what happened in the 70s and the success Kildare are having now, hopefully that continues to grow the game and ensures we have the players - and the coaches - coming through. It's all about the numbers. You need the numbers involved."
Kildare returned to the extended Leinster championship from 2001 for four years, but only beat Wicklow in that period. Dunney - who went on to be a selector during Mick O'Dwyer's time with the Lilywhites - was the chairman of Croke Park's hurling development committee when, in 2004, the Christy Ring and Rackard Cups were announced.
Kildare have been slowly building blocks since then. Naas' move into the competitive underage ranks in Kilkenny was massive, as has been the club's progress in the Leinster club championship - and the appointment of David Herity as the Lilywhitsenior manager, and more recently Brian Dowley.
Colm Nolan, the current county hurling chairman, came on board in 2014. Four years later he headed up an action plan to drive participation in non-traditional hurling areas - over 50 'action agents' were appointed to go to work. "We knew if they could get behind it that their passion, their determination locally would drive others on," said Nolan.
The Lilywhites have won the Christy Ring six times, including last year, but the Joe McDonagh Cup became the next level competition to win from 2018 and Kildare's victory over Laois in last Saturday's Croker final has propelled them into the promised land of this All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final and then Division 1B in 2026.
The average age of the Kildare hurlers is just over 23. "This is the culmination of what we put in place 15 or 20 years ago at underage level," said Dunney. "I remember those young lads from when they were 12 or 14 playing, so it's terrific.
"It's a people-driven thing. It's not about a thing you can put up on a blackboard and say, 'this is what we do'. It's about getting people down to the pitches to help out and getting kids onto the pitch, it's about having people there for every age group to help them be the best they can be. After that, then, you pray for success."
Kildare's hurling community may be dizzy with success but, for Colm Nolan, what matters now is building a sustainable future at the top level. "We have to move to make sure that we can achieve the next level," he said. "That's what it's all about.
"Our development is all built on the back of making sure we've got good structures, making sure we've got good quality people across the board.
"We're very, very fortunate to have a very energetic, passionate hurling family. They look out for each other and share ideas - and that's really going to be even more important now that we grow that family. There's a greater participation level across the whole county and that's going to be absolutely crucial for the next 10 years."
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