Great things can come to those who wait. Paudie Clifford knows it because he has lived it.
The Fossa man had to bide his time before joining his younger brother David in the Kerry set-up.
When he did so, he became part of a team that endured heartbreak and failure.
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He was an extra-time replacement in the shock Munster semi-final loss to Cork in 2020 and started in last year's All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Tyrone.
They were the lowest points, after Kerry came so close in the final replay against Dublin three years ago.
The 25-year-old started slowly in this year's All-Ireland semi-final and final before coming to the fore in the second half against Dublin and Galway respectively.
Now he has his first Celtic Cross as Kerry celebrate their first All-Ireland triumph since 2014.
“It’s a good feeling alright," Clifford said. “It’s relief more than anything, really, just to get over the line.
"We knew how tough the game was going to be and we’re just delighted to get through it.
"There would have been nothing worse than losing the final.
“Dublin was a big game for us. Emotionally, it was a big game.
"But we knew we had to get back at it, that Galway were going to pose a different challenge, which they did. We went back at it and analysed Galway for what they are.
“There was a lot of pressure on us this year. It’ll be easier to go back to training in January as All-Ireland champions than trying to lift it again. We’re delighted.”
Clifford has made a name for himself as a hard-working forward who constantly drops deep to become a creator for his superstar sibling and the other Kingdom attackers.
He smiles when he recalls the moment he realised that Kerry were going to be victorious in what was an engrossing clash with Galway.
“It wasn't until we went four points up at the very end," Clifford recalled.
“You’re always worried! That fourth point (Sean O'Shea's 75th minute free) was the insurance score.”
The years of toiling to become a Kerry senior made victory all the sweeter on Sunday.
David played above his age grade at school and won two All-Ireland minor titles with Kerry in 2016 and '17.
The following year, on the same weekend that David scored a late goal against Monaghan for the Kerry seniors in the Super 8s, Paudie won a junior All-Ireland with the county.
His mentality changed during his time playing Sigerson under Billy Morgan at UCC but then a bad ankle break set him back.
Paudie feared that his Kerry chance would never come but last year was his breakthrough season. Although the Kingdom were beaten by Tyrone, the Clifford siblings both won AllStars.
Sunday's success was his reward for his patience and hard work.
"That's probably a good way to describe it," Clifford said.
"It's been a lot of hard work, a lot of years of not being picked and a lot of failures along the way. But it feels good now.
"David was a help and I always enjoyed playing with my club, so that was what kept me going.
"I loved playing for my club, we had great craic. So it was never anything like, 'Oh, you're not going to play football any more'.
"All I had to do was play well, keep doing my thing and just hope that maybe I'd get called up."
Clifford's performances in the east Kerry championship were fundamental to what followed.
"They were the key," he acknowledged.
"They put me on the map because you were marking some of the backs in county championship games that were playing for us on Sunday, and I was doing relatively well.
"You're getting more belief in yourself and obviously the management can see that, too. They were the main things that counted."
Clifford had to stay in the fight in the classic encounter with the Dubs and again against Galway.
He struggled to make an impact in the first half of both games but came up with two points in the second half in both.
Against Galway, he came to life as the clock ticked down as his fitness came to the fore.
"Whoever I'm marking, just keep wearing them down," he said.
"In the first half it was tight and they got bodies back fast. There just wasn't much space.
"I just had to keep at it. Often games do open up more in the second half when bodies are getting a bit tired and teams are bringing on subs who mightn't be quite as tuned into the game plan.
“We know it’s a 75-minute game and we know to stick to the process - if we were there or thereabouts with 15-20 minutes to go we'd have a good chance.
"We've actually an unbelievable panel and always had a lot of belief in our bench. They're actually improving the team, not making it worse.
"That's probably why we've been doing well over the last 15 or 20 minutes - our bench has pulled us through."
His younger sibling spoke after the game of this being the start of something for Kerry.
With the monkey off their back, perhaps Kerry will play with even more freedom now.
"Look, they're not easily won and we just had to get over the line this year," said Paudie.
"We hope we win a few more but we know Dublin are going to be very strong again. Galway are young as well, Tyrone will be back and there are other teams like that."
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