Two seasons ago he was just a fan, jumping the wire in Clones after Cavan had risen against Derry in the Ulster final, shaking his head as Stephen King brandished the silver. That evening the beer flowed well back home in Kill, an unchanging parish on the road to Cootehill.
"I's say Stephen was a player that every young player in Cavan admired. To wear your county jersey for, what, 13 years, was an astonishing feat. He put so much in and I was delighted to see him rewarded that day in Clones," said Pearse McKenna, the man who has roamed centre-field since King retired from inter-county football.
"I think that Stephen's absence is still being felt around the squad, it takes time to fully replace a player of that stature. But we have a colossal player in Bernard McCabe and real team leaders in the likes of Bernard Morris, so it's just a matter of getting on with it."
McKenna's memories of partnering King are limited to 10 sodden minutes of a challenge match. His emergence as a possible heir to the influential midfielder came late. He learned his trade with Kill Shamrocks, a club that, though ambitious and organised, did not feature strongly on the itineraries of the inter-county selectors.
He attended minor training briefly and opted out of the under-21 scene to pursue studies and came slowly to prominence as Kill fought their way to the junior championship, taking the title in Breffni Park on a day on which McKenna shone.
A senior trial cemented his promise and a little-noticed debut against Westmeath led on to last year's championship.
And now, as winter takes a stranglehold, McKenna embraces its chill like a savvy old veteran.
"The thought of coming back to training was sickening. I mean, the actual sessions themselves are good craic, but the whole routine does take up quite a lot of time and I suppose the monotony of it and the length of the winter months take their toll. But I have it light really, being based in Cavan. Around 10 lads are travelling down from Dublin for Wednesday and Friday nights, so I have no right to be complaining."
Liam Austin, the Cavan manager, has drafted a blue-print based upon a set of immediate objectives which probably don't differ greatly from most plans formulated by managers trying to escape the low-lying trenches of National League football.
Win your games, get up with the quality opposition, experiment with the team. So, for the first match of the new season, McKenna found himself hovering around midfield with Cavan's veteran defender Bernard Morris.
"Yeah, it was an untried partnership and I think we'll be seeing more of that over the league. I mean, it doesn't signify that much, Dermot (McCabe) dropped back to midfield for the second half, but basically Liam is just trying out a few things."
Cavan are in a curious position now, with their sweep of Ulster two summers ago widely dismissed as a flash and their mediocre league form ensuring that little heed has been paid to them over the winter.
"We felt here that we were never really afforded the respect we deserved when we won the Ulster title. But we are working to regaining that right now. For us, the league is about putting ourselves in the position from where we can make another run." Yet already, the talk is of how the winter will reflect on the championship. With the draw being made on Sunday, there is hope that the county is on the verge of another sunny epoch similar to that enjoyed during the feel-good era sparked by the arrival of Martin McHugh.
"I was never managed by Martin at any level but obviously, that was a good time. I think a lot of people understood that last year was a time for rebuilding, but there is quite a bit of optimism around now. To be honest, we have been highly motivated ever since being beaten by Donegal last year. The mood in the dressing-room after that wasn't something I'll forget."
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