Clare’s star hurler Tony Kelly has claimed that winning the 2024 All-Ireland title will mean more to him than the 2013 title he and his team won, as there have been few Liam McCarthy titles since.

This year Clare beat Cork in one of the best All-Ireland finals ever and Kelly’s performance in the final was one of the key differences between the two sides over the last month.

Clare have watched the likes of Limerick win one Liam McCarthy after another, while their last title came in 2013 with a rejuvenated side that included Kelly himself and Shane O’Donnell, who scored a hat-trick that day.

Asked by RTÉ Sport to describe the difference between the two titles, Kelly admitted that he now appreciates the title they just won in 2024 much more because he knows you don’t win it every year.

“It’s crazy,” Kelly said after receiving the PwC GPA Player of the Month award for June. “Some of us were winning at 18 or 19. We weren’t winning anything in our 20s. And now we’re winning again at 30. That’s just sports. But yeah, we’re lucky to have those two.”

“It’s different than 2013. Back then we were probably successful as minors and thought: This is great, this is how it should happen.

Clare’s Tony Kelly scores his side’s third goal during the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship final between Clare and Cork at Croke Park in Dublin. (Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

“When you go from 2013 to 2024 without an All-Ireland, you appreciate it all the more.”

Clare and Kelly are confident they can challenge any team in the country next year, but the nature of hurling can be unpredictable at times, unless your name is Limerick or Kilkenny.

Kelly explained that belief was a major factor in their All-Ireland victory, but acknowledged that there was no guarantee that would be the case next year.

“You have to believe that you can compete or make it to the decisive phase of the championship,” says Kelly.

“In the years between 2013 and 2018, for one reason or another, we didn’t play well enough; we didn’t have enough guys playing well enough.

“Probably beaten by better teams. That Galway team in 1917, for example. Tipperary then. Cork.

“Every year is different. There is no guarantee that we will make it to the decisive end of the championship next year.

“Since Brian has been here, we have been relatively consistent in making it to the late end of the championship.”