The Dubs had Kilkenny on the ropes in round four of the Leinster SHC before their three-point lead was overturned late on in Parnell Park, but Micheál Donoghue’s men were adamant history would not repeat itself against Galway.
Dublin goalkeeper Seán Brennan felt their victory over the Tribesmen on Sunday was “probably a long time coming for this group” with their reward a Leinster final rematch against the Cats on Saturday week in Croke Park.
“We probably learned a lot from the Kilkenny game, and maybe in a strange way, it probably gave us that bit of experience to actually see it out then,” Brennan told the Irish Independent.
“Against Kilkenny, we got the second goal and didn’t score then for 11 minutes, so we just said if that happened to us again when we are on the home straight, just attack the scoreboard.
“Nothing special – just simple, simple, simple and we responded incredibly well to their goal. We got the lead back up to five or six points, so we responded incredibly well to it, and you can’t ask for much more than that.”
Brennan insists that “it’s great to be able to actually achieve what we’ve always believed that we can” but there is no silverware on the table yet as they bid to end an 11-year Leinster wait.
The Cuala goalkeeper reckons the win over Galway and the experience of a provincial final “will give the young lads so much belief that this is what we can do when we perform to our best”.
Donoghue has faced serious losses to his squad since taking the reins for the 2023 season, but they have continued to plough on with new faces like Paddy Doyle, Brian Hayes, Dara Purcell and Darragh Power bedding in nicely.
Brennan is delighted with where the squad is at and paid tribute to the 2017 All-Ireland SHC-winning boss for giving them the foundations to shine, while he can’t wait to have a crack at Kilkenny with a “full deck”.
“Micheál came in and we sat in Castleknock around 18 months ago and this group said, ‘We want silverware’ and we wouldn’t be happy until we got that silverware, so we have the right structures in place to go and achieve that.
“They prep us, but it’s up to us once the whistle goes, so it’s a credit to everyone. You saw the lads who came off the bench, everyone is contributing, so we are in a really good place.
“I know we played them [Kilkenny] in the Leinster final in 2021 during Covid and we lost five guys on the morning of that game. So with a full deck, I’d love to see what we can do.”
