OPINION: Important to celebrate success like it's the first title win - Shane Dowling

IF YOU don’t celebrate any success like it's your first one - I do believe it’s the start of a decline.
And I think we can all agree the last few days have been incredible. The photographs and scenes from the homecoming tells you all you need to know about how this success was celebrated.

What a few days.

I was working Sunday night. About 11.30pm was clock out time, and by 11.47pm it was celebration time!

You play hurling to win, you follow your county to win and when you get win the ultimate prize it has to be celebrated.
The game has been analysed high up and low down at this stage, and watched back many many times.
I wont lie - after 30 minutes I did believe that we were under pressure.
Not because of the scoreline - but because of how we were playing. Five points after 30 minutes, two from play and five of our six forwards not even scoring.

I was lucky to be right in the middle of the pitch 15 minutes before throw-in doing a piece on RTE - and the wind was ferocious. You couldn’t pick it up in the stands, but it was very strong.
Limerick couldn’t get ball in the full forward line, and they were getting hammered on both theirs and the opposition puckouts. The one area of the game I thought they would be way better at.

But when they came out in the second half, it was a total change, and they dominated on the puckouts. Eoin Murphy was looking out and just didn’t know where to puck it. It was at this stage the Limerick half back line really took over.

Actually to be honest, the whole team took over.

They had them beaten in all angles - and only for Paddy Deegan's goal they would have literally hammered Kilkenny.
I think the last few weeks have shown us the difference in quality from the Leinster and Munster Championship. Galway were pretty average underneath it all, and Kilkenny the same on Sunday. Neither team have a flourish of youth.

In 2018 Limerick were such a young team. I think that’s where you need to start and build from there.
I mean, to score 30 points in the last four All-Ireland finals is some achievement. The greatest skill a management team can have is to produce your teams on the biggest days - and Limerick have never failed in this department.

And like, to be without your centre back and captain, Declan Hannon, Sean Finn, and Richie English also out, it's something else.

But every year Limerick had injuries and always have been missing a few. Its nearly something they expect now every year and it doesn’t phase them in the slightest.
It's they way they train. They train like they play, and if you do that well then somebody is going to get injured at some point along the way.

And whether we like it or not, the hype for the Drive for Five is going to be off the charts next year.

It's something that is there and while the media, supporters etc will be going after that, the internal group that are in the set-up will probably talk about it at the start of the year, to acknowledge it, but that will be that then.

Between now and then though there is a lot of water to cross the bridge.
In saying that though, I can't see anybody leaving, or retiring. Graeme Mulcahy is the oldest outfield player, and I cant see him walking with this bit of history on the line.

John and the whole management team will be going after this like it is going to be there first.

There is great credit due to so many people, that if you start naming you will only leave someone out. But, the way Limerick has turned around, and I'm on about the city of Limerick now, not just the team, in the last 15 years, is something else.

Hurling and sport in general is a driver of that. I was in town on Monday for a few hours, and the buzz and colour and enjoyment was just a sight to behold. I was always proud to say I am from Limerick, but you do it now more so with your chest banging, and we are proud to call Limerick our home.