Have you heard the one about the Galway man who won a Leinster Senior medal with the Dubs? Well if you haven't by now you must have been in hibernation, because following the Metropolitans hurling success over Galway last month, Meelick/Eyrecourt native Niall Corcoran was onto a winner, helping to bridge a long gap for his adopted county against his native one.

No one would have believed that Dublin would come from the murky depths of a poor 2012 under Anthony Daly to rise from the ashes and take three trophies to date this year, losing just two games in the process.

Last March, Corcoran spoke already of how 2012 had been put to bed at that stage. A dismal 12 months - defeat to Laois in the Walsh Cup; relegation to Division 1B, after a replay loss to Galway; an 18-point drubbing by Kilkenny in a Leinster semi-final and a three-point Phase 2 loss to Clare in the All-Ireland Series.

Dublin's 2012 ended on July 7th, but 2013 brought a wave of change.

A Walsh Cup title in February, a Division 1B league success later that Spring - and a notable first Leinster title since 1961 in front of 36,657 spectators at Croke Park last month.

From Zero to Heroes it has been a hugely contrasting 12 months.

"There was probably a sour taste left in the mouth from last year. This year we said we would take every game on its merits, and we did that starting with the Bord na Mona Walsh Cup. We were very happy to win that. Success breeds success and when you start winning games it does start breeding that confidence that we maybe didn't have last year," he said.

Corcoran returned to Galway for the first time, nine days after that provincial triumph for the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship launch at Loughgeorge last month, head held high that he had done the business.

"I'm glad they let me back in," he joked.

"There was a small pocket in East-Galway who were behind me on Leinster Final day as well. I got some great text messages from home in the lead up to the game and it was super.

"It was great for the county. The Cup has been on a tour of the clubs since. It was great for people just to see it. Players are now very realistic of what's ahead. The celebrations are firmly finished and the cup has been put away so it's down to the hard graft now.

"It's great to finally have got a Leinster medal and it's just brilliant for Dublin hurling in general that we achieved that. It's great for all of the people who have done a lot of work in the clubs around Dublin. It's an achievement on behalf of all of their work."

Corcoran is one of those many people who have been a cog in this Dublin hurling wheel over the past decade.

Since 2005 he has worked as a full-time coaching officer with Kilmacud Crokes, a club with whom he became a member three years later after the commute to training in Galway became too much.

A hard decision to make, moving from the Meelick/Eyrecourt club he loves so well, and where his brother still lines out in the blue and white.

He hasn't looked back since and helped bridge another gap last year on the club front, when Crokes claimed their first Dublin Senior Hurling Championship since 1985.

It's Cork for Dublin in this weekend's All-Ireland semi-final, but the other side of the draw is equally interesting. Two teams that no one had imagined would get this far - Limerick and Clare pitting it out for the final spot in the decider on Sunday week.

Limerick and Dublin's participation in Division 1B earlier this year meant the pundits offered them little chance of getting this far, and while an all-1B All-Ireland final would be interesting, Corcoran says his side can't look past this weekend's game.

"From our point of view we have a huge challenge coming up. We are going to be meeting a team with a few games under their belt, so I think our focus at the moment is just that date and making sure that we can perform to the best of our ability. We are going to have to be better than we were the last day to overcome that, but again it is great to be looking forward to it."

With so many twists and turns already in Championship 2013, Corcoran wouldn't be surprised if there are a few more ahead.

"Maybe not. The fact that Tipperary and Kilkenny are gone is a bit of a shock to the Championship. Limerick's resurgence again is huge. It's open enough this year which is great for hurling first of all and it makes for an exciting Championship and hopefully there will be a few more upsets along the way."

After five games in five weeks, Dublin have been trying to deal with a five-week break since the Leinster Final.

However, after a five-day gap to celebrate a rare provincial triumph, it has been all systems go since in order to banish the All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Tipperary two years ago and ensure justice is done this weekend.

"The focus is firmly on training now and making sure that the intensity is there. It's upped even more now I think, because we have to keep sharp. The celebrations are over now and our focus will be on getting ourselves right for the semi-final.

"Players have come first and they are the ones that provide the entertainment. I know the GAA are trying to restrict who comes onto the field, but I think there have to be allowances given for players, but you can't prevent a player from getting water."

Two men have made a major difference in 2013.

Former Clare hurler Tony Griffin has been added to the back room team, and Corcoran says the worth of his inclusion to the setup has been immense.

"Tony is hugely experienced. First of all, he is fantastic with the players; he is fantastic with people overall. He is a great guy. I suppose he is maybe like what Bernard Dunne is to the footballers - a lifestyle coach. He has brought in something special, especially for the younger players. He has been there and he has done it and has a couple of All-Stars to show for it. He knows what it takes and he knows maybe how to handle the big occasions too.

"Ross Dunphy is another guy who has come in this year as our trainer. We are in fantastic shape and injuries have been to the minimum. This is largely due to himself and the physios, they have been fantastic. As I said it takes all of those people in the background to make sure that it works and that's how it has been. The players have really bought into it and hopefully it keeps going."

It's heady days indeed for Dublin GAA with the Senior Mens and Womens footballers also taking provincial silverware, and still in contention for All-Ireland honours.

"So far, so good. It's been a busy Summer so far for Dublin GAA and it is great. It just shows the amount of work that is being done in Dublin in terms of coaching. Football, Hurling, Ladies Football and Camogie - it has really come good at the moment. It is great for Dublin in general to make sure that is happening. The footballers look very impressive also, so who knows where it will take us."

With a clean sweep of titles, Dublin hurlers are firmly intent on not stopping here.

"We have to look forward to what is ahead of us," Corcoran says.

"All year we have been very realistic in our goals and our targets. We are only focussing on one game at a time and focussing on performance and getting the best from ourselves individually and collectively. If it's not good enough we have to go back to the drawing board obviously, but we need to be in a position where it is all about the performance for us and not about the outcome. So far, so good I suppose." Tweet

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