For most big-ball protagonists and followers, of which there are many, in this county, the magnitude, significance, or even the simple news of what Kilmoyley’s hurlers achieved last Saturday, may escape most of them.

And, in a sense, that is both understandable and regrettable.

Kilmoyley – after winning a third consecutive county championship – went on to win the Munster Senior League title, beating such hurling luminaries as Wolfe Tones of Clare, Na Piarsaigh of Limerick, and the Cork trio of Ballyhea, Cloyne and Na Piarsaigh, boasting such stalwarts as Sean Óg Ó hAilpín, Mark Prendergast and John Gardiner.

The naysayers and the unconverted may say that Kilmoyley have failed to produce when and where it really matters, in the provincial club championship, and in a way they have a very valid point, but then that is to miss the point.

When lined up against its five provincial colleagues, Kerry hurling has always been the ultimate whipping boy, never mind your Clares and Waterfords. And realistically, Kerry will never win a Munster senior hurling title, at least not while hurls are made of ash and Filipinos play for Cork. To think otherwise, would be plain daft, and there is no one involved in Kerry hurling who actually believes otherwise.

But that’s not to say that the hurling folk in this county cannot aspire to attaining some degree of success, greatness, competitiveness, equality, ambition and prizes, like the one gathered by Kilmoyley last Sunday.

This year was a watershed year for the Kerry county team, no matter what logic one applies. Before this summer, Kerry hurling’s last ‘great’ feat was to beat Waterford in a Munster Championship match ten years previous. Waterford might now be a formidable force in the game, but back then they were another Munster whipping boy for the ‘big three’. Kerry just happened to lash back a little harder that day.

Since then, Waterford – like Clare – progressed, while Kerry either regressed or stayed stagnant. Whatever way you look at it, the gap never closed any further, not, that is until this year.

Admittedly, another fairly heavy defeat was inflicted on the Kingdom in the Munster Championship proper (ironically by Waterford), but from there on, Kerry made huge progress in the Qualifier Series, culminating in that excellent game against Limeruck in Tralee, where the home team genuinely had the Shannonsiders rocked.

One can argue that Limerick were a shadow of themselves all year, but the plain fact is that they are still one of the hurling aristocrats, and defeat to Kerry would have been seismic. After that game in Tralee, Kerry coach Eddie Murphy said that while the summer had been both protracted and productive for Kerry hurling, the hiatus between that summer evening, and the first round of the National Hurling League was so great that hurling in a county like Kerry was in danger of losing all the ground it had just gained.

And that is one of the reasons why Kilmoyley’s extended run in the Munster League is crucial. Naturally, the Kerry champions will always get one crack at the Munster championship, but hitherto that has always ended with them returning to Kerry, beaten, for a long winter.

This League, only in its second year of operation (Kilmoyley lost last year’s final to Sarsfields of Cork), is an extremely useful vehicle for clubs like Kilmoyley to advance and improve their game. The competition is several grades up from the local scene in Kerry, yet it purposefully lacks the cutting-edge of the provincial championship.

John Meyler said after Saturday’s game that Kilmoyley had treated this League seriously all along, and there’s no doubt the Cork and Limerick and Clare sides did too. For Na Piarsaigh to arrive to Killarney with three of their senior inter-county players showed their intent, and one could see the genuine disappointment in their manager, Joe O’Leary.

However, Kilmoyley’s success will only leave a legacy if they, and other Kerry clubs, and the county team get the support they need from the relevant people within the county. Understandably, the vast majority of resources is put into football, and hurling is a much more expensive game to fund than football, but all the hurling clubs in the county - north and south - as well as the schools - primary and secondary - should be helped to develop the game.

How about free hurls and helmets to school kids, more qualified hurling coaches for underage clubs, attractive double headers with football games, greater accommodation for dual players, better fixtures planning to ensure maximum summer hurling, and ways of attracting bigger crowds to domestic and inter-county games, like school children free with a teacher or parent.

There was an interesting and encouraging reception at that Limerick game in Tralee, when the Kerry team were applauded off the field at half time and full time. Something tapped into the psyche of the crowd that night, and it would be a shame if that wasn’t experienced again in Tralee or Killarney next summer.

The big breakthrough can come again, and it could be Waterford, Limerick or Clare. It could be Offaly or Dublin or Antrim in the qualifiers. It could even be Kilmoyley in the Munster Club Championship next year, against Blackrock or Toomevara or Mount Sion or Doora-Barefield.

Of course, there’s every chance that Kilmoyley may not come out of Kerry next year, or for some time, and it could be Lixnaw or Causeway or Ballyduff.

In one sense, it would be a shame if this great Kilmoyley team didn’t get one more shot at Munster’s elite, now that they have hurled themselves up to the higher echelons in the province.

In another sense, it would be great and encouraging if another Kerry club could emulate the Lerrig men and make and leave their mark beyond the county border. But it won’t happen unless all involved in the promotion of the game grab what Kilmoyley – and Kerry – have achieved this year, throw it on the hurl and run with it.

Kilmoyley seized their moment, now the rest must ‘carpe diem’.