When Dublin edged Mayo to an All Ireland crown in 2016, Con O'Callaghan was an unused sub in the original final and replay.
The 2017 season saw him rise up the ranks however and ultimately his early goal against Mayo proved crucial as Dublin edged their rivals by a point once again.
Fresh from that personal and collective achievement, he chatted to Dave McIntyre about a season that yielded 2-20 across his six games.
You can listen to the full interview on the podcast player or stream/download on iTunes:
And as a reward for his performances, he is nominated for PwC All Star Young Footballer of the Year.
"It was brilliant personally. I was very lucky to have been involved with some very special teams. The '21s, we lost a Minor semi final together, we lost a '21 semi final last year and that probably stood to us," he said of some of the less successful experiences he's faced in teams.
Dublin's Con O'Callaghan celebrates scoring the first goal of the game ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
"With Cuala, we lost a Leinster final last year so again the losses stand to you more than the wins do and of course I was involved with the seniors this year, another special group, so the losses and then being part of a special team will probably be what drives us on."
O'Callaghan was not involved in the league campaign which posed a challenge for him when it came to the forwards pecking order as Championship kicked in.
"I didn't get to play the league but I suppose that's the way it panned out and I just had to reevaluate it all. The manager emphasised it would be a fresh start. After losing the league, they emphasised that it would be a fresh start for the players," he said.
"So I just said I'd give it a lash, just the first couple of weeks in training give my best and it went well enough so that's what got me into the Carlow match."
Rising up the ranks involves trying to push past some illustrious, but while O'Callaghan is conscious of "laying down a marker" in the race for a starting spot, he also recognises that "we're in competition but we're team-mates at the same time".
The youngster's calmness and apparent lack of nerves was evident in his goal against Mayo, which was taken with consummate ice cool composure and followed without fiery celebrations. Dave asked him about that.
Cuala's Con O'Callaghan ©INPHO/Tommy Dickson
"I just thought I need to be set for the next kick out," he said, adding that before the match, he might have thought a wilder celebration would have erupted out of him.
"Once it happened, I was nearly a bit shocked, just run back into position."
But he also made the point: "Me celebrating in the first minute, we haven't won anything. You can celebrate after the match but if you're celebrating in the first minute, showboating there, you're in for a hiding."
He was more nervous for team-mates, like when Dean Rock was preparing for what would be the winning point from a free, admitting that he could barely watch it.
And with his talent as a hurler, the possibility of a dual role has been raised but O'Callaghan ruled that out.
"I don't think it's really possible nowadays. You'd need to be a full time athlete if you're going to do the dual. I just think it would be tough to do physically and mentally," he said.
Sky Sports today announced it is partnering with the GAA on three major grassroots initiatives which will see the broadcaster invest a total of €3m over five years. Today’s announcement was made alongside the launch of The GAA Super Games Centres at GAA National Games Development Centre, Abbotstown; the first of the three grassroots initiatives that Sky Sports will support. Dublin player and newly crowned All Ireland champion Con O’Callaghan and Sky mentors Carla Rowe and Darran O’Sullivan were in attendance to announce Sky Sports’ new grassroots partnership with the GAA.
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