Niall Cahalane might have done all there was to do during his exceptional intercounty career, but that will do nothing to allay his nerves this morning.
'Yeah, he always gets a bit nervous for us on the day of a match,' Méabh Cahalane says of her father. It's her mother, Ailish, who is usually the calmer of the two whenever any of their children are playing, but it would be understandable if she also feels some tension before the throw-in today.
Their eldest daughter will lead Cork out in Croke Park ahead of the All-Ireland final, with Orlaith playing at corner-forward - a third sister, Grainne, would be involved but for injury.
'It's a tremendous honour for me to be made captain, this is an unbelievable group and to lead them out is a privilege, but there are loads of leaders in this group, I am just fortunate enough to be the one named captain,' says Méabh.
When Ger Manley asked her to skipper the Cork side at the start of the year, having been vice-captain in 2024, she didn't have to go far for advice. It is 30 years now since her father led the Rebel County's footballers to a Munster title. 'He reminded me that he was captain of Cork in 1995 when they won the Munster title. He's definitely someone I turn to.
'He has done it all, but he always says to us that the main thing is to always enjoy playing, and that is what we have all tried to do.The support of our family is a big reason why we are lining out for Cork.'
Even for a family so immersed in Gaelic games as to be considered Cork GAA royalty, this will feel like a special day. When Niall Cahalane and Ailish Cleary married in 1991, it made headlines in West Cork as it joined together two clans who had been central to the Castlehaven GAA club. And their influence remains as strong as ever.
Méabh and Orlaith will try to win a third All-Ireland title in a row for Cork just a few days after their uncle, John Cleary, was confirmed as the Rebels' football boss for another season, and three weeks after their oldest brother Damien was part of the hurling squad who are still trying to process the defeat to Tipperary in the recent All-Ireland final.
Like each of her six siblings, Méabh was born into the GAA, into its madness and the hold it can have over a person.
Her father was well into his thirties when he called time on his intercounty career, and was still playing senior football for Castlehaven at 41. Even though he reared his family in Cork City, Niall never left his hometown club, and often drove more than an hour to training with his kids in the back seat, Méabh wedged between Conor and Damien.
It wasn't just her father's glittering career that served as inspiration, however. On her mother's side, she had her aunt, Nollaig Cleary, John's sister, who won nine All-Ireland football medals with Cork between 2005 and 2014.
'We've always been going to games and my aunt Nollaig was on the Cork ladies' team, so we would have been following her. We were lucky because when we were younger there were a lot of people to look up to, and a lot of role models in our family. And I suppose there was a lot of success, too. 'And, seeing my aunt in Croke Park, winning All-Irelands with Cork, I thought it was the best thing ever and I wanted to follow in those footsteps and try to play for Cork.'
For a few years, Méabh even got to represent Cork in both codes, until the demands just got too great. Serving the two masters has become virtually impossible in the men's game - her brother Damien had done it at under-21 level but found it too much of a strain at senior.
There are still dual players in the camogie squad, but she found it too much of a stretch.
'It wasn't an easy decision to make, but I spoke to Damien about it and I was finding that juggling both of them was just too challenging. There are still girls in our squad who are doing it and they are doing it well,' she added.
'But I just felt that I wasn't at 100 percent for either of the squads and wasn't able to give 100 percent at training and that's not fair to either side.Having joined the camogie panel in 2014, winning a first All-Ireland the following year, that was always going to be the stronger pull. I suppose having been on the camogie panel a bit longer, and I suppose I was enjoying camogie a bit more at that time, I thought if I had to concentrate on one and maybe give a couple of extra percent, it should be that.'
Given that Cork are aiming for a third All-Ireland title in a row this afternoon, that's a bit of an understatement.
They are facing a familiar foe in Galway, who they beat in last year's decider, although the scorecard for this season has been one each, with the Tribeswomen winning the Division 1 League encounter in March before Cork won the league final.
But, having been in Croke Park a few weeks ago when Cork hurlers suffered their baffling second-half collapse, the Rebel skipper is taking nothing for granted.You're guaranteed nothing in sport and unfortunately they [Cork hurlers] probably didn't perform to their potential that day, and they'll know that more than anyone else,' said the 29-year-old.I suppose the worst feeling coming away from Croke Park, and we've had it ourselves, is regret.'
'Hopefully that group can stick together now, because you probably learn a lot more when you lose. The lads can use that as a target to go forward, to hopefully get back to Croke Park next year and right those wrongs.'
Even though she has been a decade on this dominant Cork team and has won four All-Ireland finals, she has also experienced the pain of losing on the biggest day twice - with Cork having lost to Galway in 2021 and Kilkenny the following year.
But they channelled that hurt to drive them to the O'Duffy Cup by beating Waterford in 2023. And now Cahalane stands on the cusp of being captain of the first Rebel side to claim three AllIreland titles in a row.
'I suppose your perspective changes the older you get. You go back training in January with one thing in mind, you are aiming towards an All-Ireland final and an All-Ireland medal,' says Cahalane, who works as an accountant with Grant Thornton in Cork city.
'When that final whistle goes, the only description that I can give of that feeling is that all the hard work that you've put in all year has now paid off.
'It's those battles in training, the nights where it was raining and you didn't want to go out. When you get over the line and that final whistle goes, it's just relief that it has all been made worth it.'
