With Cork's longest Liam MacCarthy drought now in it’s 19th year, there is a buzz right around the county that Seán O'Donoghue will this weekend follow in the footsteps of his childhood hero Seán Óg Ó hAilpín and walk the steps of the Hogan Stand as an All-Ireland winning captain.
The dethroning of champions Limerick and the Treaty’s drive for five has ratcheted up expectations, with Munster rivals Clare now standing in their way of ultimate honours.
The journey to the showpiece has been eventful to say the least, something O’Donoghue himself acknowledges days out from the biggest game of his career.
Two defeats from two in Munster left them on the brink of provincial elimination before a grandstand finish saw them overturn Limerick in their own backyard.
Victories over Offaly and Dublin were relatively low-key affairs, but after blitzing Limerick again to race seven points in front at one stage, the reigning champions started to whittle down the lead with the game in the dying embers.
Pat Ryan’s side held firm, the Rebels delighting the majority of a sold-out Croke Park to bounce their way into a first final since 2013.
"We seemed to just have enough of it," O'Donoghue tells RTÉ Sport when addressing the team’s upturn in fortunes.
"We’ve lost so many games over the years, been on the wrong side of one and two-point games. We have driven it on this year. There has been a bit of a shift in the mentality. Rather than have the fear of losing, we are just going out there to do our best to win it."
He’s describing the team, but he could just as easily be analysing his own performances to date.
One of Ryan’s first decisions upon his appointment was to name the Inniscarra man as captain.
A noted footballer – he picked off four points from full-forward in the 2016 Under-21 All-Ireland final defeat to Mayo and captained the side the following season – he has established himself as one of Cork’s most consistent members of the full-back line in recent years.
This championship campaign has seen the 28-year-old pushed to the pin on of his collar on several occasions, yet he now stands just 70 minutes away becoming the 28th man to captain Cork to All-Ireland glory.
The opening Munster assignment against Waterford followed an indifferent league display, with the three-point defeat at Walsh Park leading many to question what direction Cork were taking under Ryan’s stewardship.
"We just didn’t really show up," he says. "I don’t know what it was, just a dodgy first game. We were coming in as hot favourites."
Whatever about those around him, O’Donoghue couldn’t be faulted. Easily their best defender on the day, he held Dessie Hutchinson to a point from play and kept his head when others appeared to be floundering.
While there were definite signs of improvement in defeat to Clare, O’Donoghue’s dismissal for a second yellow card made the assignment all the more challenging.
The equation at home to Limerick in round 3 was rather simple: win or bust.
Twelve months after a one-point defeat at the Gaelic Grounds sealed their championship fate, a late rally and Patrick Horgan penalty four minutes into injury time secured a famous win and kept their season alive.
For O’Donoghue it was a game of highs and lows. Out in front throughout the contest as Aaron Gillane was held scoreless from play, he was part of two defensive errors that led to goals for Seamus Flanagan, who helped himself to a hat-trick.
Eight weeks later Cork made it two wins in a summer over the green machine, but Gillane was a standout figure, rattling over half a dozen points from play despite the close attention of O’Donoghue.
Indeed such was the ball-winning form and accuracy of the Patrickswell man, many felt the reigning Player of the Year could have added further to his tally were it not for the diligence of O'Donoghue, who also spent time tagging Gearoid Hegarty when the nominal half-forward was stationed closer to Patrick Collins' goal.
"We’ve been under the cosh a few times now," O’Donoghue says. "We survived the Limerick game (semi-final) when they came back at us.
"(In Munster against Limerick) it was just backs against the walls, and we have always performed backs against the wall.
"With two minutes to go we were gone, two minutes later we had survived. We had given ourselves a lifeline.
"It just shows the spirit in the group, that mentality and never say die attitude we have developed over the last few years."
After a red card and defeat last time out to the Banner, there is no shortage of motivation for the former UCC student who concedes the form guide between the sides should fuel belief for Brian Lohan’s men with four victories in their last five games between the sides.
O’Donoghue, however, has enjoyed special afternoons against the Banner, having made his championship debut in 2018 in a round-robin victory and weeks later downing the same opposition once again for his sole provincial medal to date.
"We just want to go out there and be the best that we can be," he says looking ahead to Sunday. "We have no doubt that if we’re the best we can be, we can go away and win."
Watch the All-Ireland Hurling Championship final, Cork v Clare, on Sunday from 2.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
