When it was over you felt as if you should have a lie down in a darkened room. Yesterday's All-Ireland hurling final rattled and thundered for 70 minutes plus and then Croke Park exploded. Kilkenny had won their 29th title and deprived Cork of their third in a row. It was magnificent to watch; draining too.
If there is a god he has promised Kilkenny's hurling fundamentalists that heaven will be an eternity of days like these.
In return they work feverishly in the fields proselytising for the game, nurturing the player crops of the future. Redemption and renewal are articles of faith. Kilkenny were denied their own moment of three-in-a-row glory back in 2004. Smiting Cork had perfect symmetry.
Kilkenny blew into town, with a fresh-faced young side who bore the tag of outsiders and who carried a detailed game plan. They dogged and harried Cork all afternoon, grinding the spirit out of their ancient rivals.
Cork's eloquent short-passing style was interrupted by passionate heckling throughout. Having matched Cork physically and tactically Kilkenny had need only to add the grace notes of a few fine scores.
A first-half goal from Aidan Fogarty, playing in his first senior final and perhaps using his relative anonymity to fly under radar, put three points between the sides after half an hour. The margin expanded at times to as much as six points but Cork never managed to get any further than within two points of their rivals.
"For the last few years now," said Kilkenny manager Brian Cody, who was leading his county to the fourth win of his tenure, "the cornerstone of our whole set-up has been spirit. Spirit drives on things. Everything emanates from that. The hunger that was out there was palpable. It was disappointing a lot of things were said about our players from the start of the year.
"I'm not whingeing but some of the people who were writing us off a short time ago can change their tune now."
For Cody, a former All-Ireland winning captain himself, the win had other pleasant resonances.
His son Donnacha was a member of the victorious panel. The win was the first achieved by Kilkenny since the retirement of their pre-eminent star DJ Carey and was fashioned without the services of their greatest defender JJ Delaney who was missing through injury. Furthermore when Jackie Tyrell of the famed James Stephens club lifted the trophy afterwards he became the first man from that club to do so since Cody himself in 1982.
"That means an awful lot to me," said Cody afterwards. Just how much it all meant had been visible in every stroke and tackle for the previous 70 minutes.