YOU never know what Croke Park is going to throw up, nor the road that takes you there.
Heading down the M1, the first sight of a hard shoulder hedge being watered arrived just before the Loughbrickland turn-off. That became a line the other side of Newry, a carload liberated from their wagon, the whooshing of nearby traffic raising stakes to new levels amid an already bracing breeze.
The two-mile toll bridge tailback would be enough to induce PTSD for poor punters who made the pilgrimage to Worthy Farm little over a week previous, Drogheda’s very own Pyramid Stage offering up its Glastonbury tribute, awash with Armagh, Monaghan and Tyrone flags by midday, the green light eventually granted for the show to start.
Afternoon into evening brought one of those elongated, ultimately underwhelming trawls through back catalogue and B sides, the odd big number just about enough to sustain the masses as Kerry and Monaghan advanced to the last four.
A cast of exciting young things were billed as headline acts, instead their thunder stolen by a once in a generation performer who has been out on the road longer than them all.
Conor McManus came, saw and conquered once more, his breathtaking encore music to Farney ears, another Croke Park gig already on the horizon for the Clontribret maestro.
Club-mate Vinny Corey lived every second on the line too, performing his own version of ‘the hustle’ when Ryan O’Toole and Kieran Duffy bottled up Jemar Hall towards the end of normal time, arms twisting like a tilt-a-whirl before a Banty-esque thrust of his right arm into the night air that embodied Monaghan’s defiance.
Those are the moments taken away from days like these, most fading over time. Sometimes, though, you catch sight of something truly special.
It was back on a sun-soaked September 17, 2017 that David Clifford announced his arrival at large, stories of school successes and minor maulings down in Munster suddenly brought to bear before a national audience.
The swirl of anticipation saw sky blue nudging up against green and red hours before the big one. Dubs don’t normally take their spot until throw-in time nears, so familiar are they with every concreted centimetre of the Hill, but nobody wanted to miss the Kingdom’s new boy prince.
Vindication for the decision to eschew that extra pint of porter wasn’t long in coming.
Within 12 seconds the Fossa phenomenon - 4-38 to his name already in that year’s Championship - found the net, the start of a remarkable 4-4 as Kerry swept to a fourth All-Ireland minor crown on the trot.
Damian McErlain’s Derry were the ones on the receiving end of that Clifford masterclass. Having stepped up then stepped away, McErlain is back on the line with the county minors, leading them to Sunday’s All-Ireland final.
As redemption stories go, though, Conor McCluskey’s takes a bit of beating.
History will never allow the Magherafelt man to forget it was he who picked up Clifford when the Oak Leafs’ bold sweeperless system was so ruthlessly exposed, leaving him wide open on the biggest day of his young life, eventually withdrawn at half-time.
Teenage years can be tough enough without that, a rebuilding job remaining that only the precious few could ever see through. McCluskey has displayed much more than his ability as a footballer to get to where he is today.
WATCH highlights from GAANOW of yesterday's @ElectricIreland Minor Final as @Kerry_Official defeated Derry & David Clifford scored 4-4! pic.twitter.com/oe0pdghoAm
— The GAA (@officialgaa) September 18, 2017
During the past two Championship campaigns – which have seen Derry land back-to-back Ulster crowns while forcing their way into the All-Ireland reckoning - McCluskey has blossomed into one of the most formidable backs in the game, his blistering pace and attacking raids posing a conundrum for forwards the length and breadth of the country.
Last summer McCluskey ran the legs off Monaghan’s Kieran Hughes, kept Donegal pair Jamie Brennan and Conor O’Donnell under lock and key during the course of 90-plus gruelling minutes before holding an in-form Shane Walsh scoreless from play in the All-Ireland semi-final.
A few months ago he gave McManus twisted blood in the provincial semi-final, making Monaghan rethink and reshape their tactical approach, while Armagh pair Conor Turbitt and Jason Duffy barely got a sniff on a trying Ulster final day for Derry.
On Sunday it was McCluskey’s electric burst from deep that opened the door for Conor Doherty’s goal as Cork were eventually cast aside, a victory that puts the Oak Leafs on a collision course with Kerry – and Clifford – on July 16.
Speaking to McCluskey at the end of last year, it soon became clear that third party references detailing a quiet, well mannered individual who would rather do his talking on the field were on the money.
Doing the whole media thing, that is never likely to be his comfort zone. Some even suggested McCluskey’s low profile might have cost him a 2022 Allstar; he could not have cared less, almost embarrassed when that was put to him.
Yet a part of him came alive when the Clifford question came. It would have been so easy to toss out a few platitudes about the better man on the day, and how the comeback is always stronger than the setback.
But he didn’t. He thought about it, reflecting honestly on his most harrowing day – and how it made him better.
“To be honest, I’ve tried to block it out as much as I possibly can.
“At the time I maybe didn’t see it, but it really did take me longer than I’d like to admit to get over it.
“On the biggest stage, to get what I felt was a humiliation at the time, my confidence really did take a big hit. In the immediate aftermath, I just thought ‘I’m never going to be good enough - that’s the senior level, you’re not going to be good enough’.
“But then as I reflected on it a bit more, it motivated me to get myself into the physical condition I needed to be able to compete with him. Obviously it was a big gap that day, so I used it as motivation to try and close that gap, and then you just kept working and working to try and get there.
“To fully get over it, and nearly stop having nightmares about it, you’d like to have another go.”
Absolution, though, is already his.
Chrissy McKaigue, or maybe even Padraig McGrogan, may be more likely candidates to pick up Clifford when rivalries are renewed at Croke Park, but it is to Conor McCluskey’s eternal credit that he is here - stronger than ever yet improving still, the road to redemption already but a blur in his rear view mirror.
