Alexander the Great was reputed to have cried when he realised his army had no more worlds to conquer. By the time of his death at the age of 32, the Macedonian king was head of the largest empire the world had seen.
The Dublin footballers are unlikely to have shed the same tears September before last when they broke through the barrier to claim the GAA s first All-Ireland inter-county senior men s five-in-a-row, masters of all they surveyed at that point. Because for some, on a personal level, there are still other worlds to conquer.
On Saturday, seven Dublin players will bid to write themselves into the record book as joint-holders of the most All-Ireland senior football medals.