By John Harrington

When the final whistle blows on Cuala’s Dublin hurling championship clash with Craobh Chiarain on Saturday, Sean Moran and five of his Cuala team-mates will quickly shower and make a bee-line for Croke Park where they’ll be honoured at the inaugural AIB GAA Club Players Awards.

A hectic schedule is something that Moran has become used to. Two weeks after defeating Na Piarsaigh in the AIB All-Ireland Club Hurling Final replay they had to refocus for a Dublin Senior Hurling Championship first round clash with St. Brigid’s.

That didn’t leave a whole lot of time to bask in the reflected glow of winning back to back All-Irelands, but Moran isn’t about to complain too much about the complications that can sometimes come with success.

“It is tough, you really do need to take in those sorts of moments where you stand there, enjoy it, and appreciate how far we've come,” he said.

“We enjoyed our week or so after and then we were back straight into the Dublin Championship which we didn't particularly have a problem with. We enjoy playing together so much that the last thing you want almost is two months away from it all.

“When you have that positive environment you just want to be a part of it because all the lads just love playing together.

“It's been absolutely brilliant to be part of it all, it's been a great journey so far.”

Cuala eventually ran out 1-14 to 1-7 winners over St. Brigid’s in that first round match but trailed at half-time by a point and had to battle hard to eventually establish a dominance.

That’s something they’re well used to. They might be back to back All-Ireland champions, but they’ve never had an easy ride of it in a highly competitive Dublin championship.

“Over the last few years our priority has always been to get to the business end of the county championship first and foremost and then find a way to win it if possible and get into Leinster,” said Moran.

“St. Brigid's gave us a tough run last year in the quarter-final, probably one of our toughest games, I think we were three points down with about eight minutes left.

“It was a hard match again two weeks ago in tough conditions but we managed to grind out the win and that's what we've been doing a lot.

“It's great when you're not playing to your potential but you still find a way to win. I think that's what a lot of great teams do and thankfully we've been lucky to scrape a few in the past and hopefully we'll scrape a few more in the future as well.”

It’ll be interesting to see just how much this Cuala team has left in the tank after two hard years of constant hurling.

But, however more they achieve in the short-term, they’ve surely laid the foundations for long-term success for the south-side club.

Thanks in no small part to the heroics of the senior hurlers, the popularity of the sport has exploded in Cuala’s catchment area and their underage nurseries are now bulging at the seams such has been the huge number of children who have flocked to the club.

“Hopefully success will breed success,” said Moran. “The more young lads we can bring through the club, the better. It will stand to the club in years to come, no doubt.

“We have a huge generation of young hurlers now that we know are hurling-mad and ultimately that's the culture we're trying to create in Cuala.

“It's great seeing the numbers in the nurseries and the underage system. It's increasing because they look up to the senior team and they want to have that as a dream, that one day they'll all play for the Cuala team in All-Irelands.

“Instilling that in the minds of the younger guys in the club is great to be a part of. It's great to be involved in that bringing that sort of community to the local area.

“It's great seeing all the kids after the match, the excitement they have for it. It's just brilliant to see.”