2024 was a magical year for Clare, who won the All-Ireland hurling title for just the fifth time, after claiming the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 crown in the spring.
While they fell short again in Munster, it was the first time the Banner had ever done the double of both national titles in one season.
That was all the more impressive given the disappointment they had endured over the previous seasons.
In the truncated Covid campaign of 2021, Brian Lohan's men failed to get out of the qualifiers after losing the Munster semi-final.
They looked to be Limerick's biggest challengers the following year, drawing with the champions in the provincial round-robin, before taking them to extra-time in the Munster final.
But Kilkenny were waiting in the All-Ireland semi-final, completely outclassing Clare in Croke Park.
2023 followed a similar pattern, although they went one better, beating John Kiely's history makers in the Munster round-robin before losing an epic against them in the provincial decider.
When the Cats (narrowly) once more put paid to their Liam MacCarthy hopes in the last four, and Limerick beat them in a third consecutive Munster final the following June, there was a sense of Clare being nearly men.
They had shown potential with their league title in between those two games, but the sense was that they just couldn't get over the line in the red heat of championship.
It was a different Clare outfit that arrived in the All-Ireland championship however, finally overcoming Kilkenny in the last four, before getting the better of Cork in a modern classic of an All-Ireland final.
For Adam Hogan, finally seeing off the Cats was the making of their historic success.
"It shows the defiance in the team, getting over that Munster final [defeat]," the 22-year-old Mary Immaculate College student said as he helped to launch the Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon Cup.
"It was great to get over the line, eventually, in the All-Ireland. Getting over Kilkenny was probably the most important thing, the last few years they'd beat us.
"Half-time was needed, we weren't playing to our full potential. We said at half-time that we had nothing to lose and we went out there and took the shackles off.
"It's the defiance in the team. When we're not playing that well, we can recuperate and come back again."
It was an exceptional year for Hogan in particular, as he was crowned PwC GAA/GPA Young Hurler of the Year, picked up an All-Star and was named in the Sunday Game Team of the Year.
He followed that up by helping Feakle to land the Clare SHC title in October for a first county triumph since 1988, having also won the Fitzgibbon with Mary I in February.
For a county will relatively little success, the question of motivation will always come up following an All-Ireland triumph.
The Banner landed Liam MacCarthy twice in two years in the 1990s, but their 2013 All-Ireland winning side was viewed as one which didn't deliver on the potential to bring home more Celtic Cross medals to the west coast.
For Hogan, it's a case of doing everything in their power to win back-to-back titles for the first time in the county's history.
"It wouldn't be discussed amongst the players but the only thing we can control is to train as hard as we did last year," he says.
"Even more so - to train as hard as we can. Personally, and team-wise, we can't approach the year any differently to the way we have before.
"You want to win more. That's the type of personality I have, I'm competitive and I want to do better than I did last year."
Clare are set to begin their Allianz League campaign against the side that Hogan took the most pleasure out of beating in 2024, Kilkenny.
Expect fireworks.
