The inner sanctum of the dressing room before the Ulster Club Final was breached by a shock result from earlier in the evening. The All-Ireland favourites and three-in-a-row Munster champions Ballygunner were out having lost 3-20 to 2-19 to Sarsfields of Cork.

That meant, as was the case in the football, all four of last season’s semi-finalists had failed to make it out of their own province in 2024.

Slaughtneil had already taken down last season’s Ulster champions Cushendall in a pulsating semi-final battle that went to extra-time. The All-Ireland race was now thrown open although Shane McGuigan said it also proved that Slaughtneil needed to be on their guard as they took to the field against Portaferry.

Read more: Paul McGreevy tributes paid to Championship winning Belfast hurler after sudden death

Read more: 2025 Sigerson Cup draw in full as former AFL prospect and QUB star is recalled to Derry panel

“To be honest, it is something I mentioned to the team before the game,” said McGuigan.

“We are a dual club so we follow the football too and we knew the Sligo champions (Coolers-Strandhill) beat Padraig Pearse’s in the Connacht final.

“We did see the result in the Munster hurling final too. We knew this was a day for the underdogs. I don’t know how the results filtered through, but it came about.

“We now play the Munster champions and, I think, a team from Munster will always fancy their chances against an Ulster team - they (Sarsfields) will be going in as favourites, especially after beating Ballygunner.”

For long periods of their Ulster final, it looked as though the 4/1 shots might pull off their own upset in the Box-It Athletic Grounds.

Portaferry led by eight points midway through the second half before back-to-back goals from Se McGuigan and Shea Cassidy swung the game in favour of the Emmet’s as they lifted the Four Seasons Cup for a fifth time since 2016.

“We were out of it to be honest and I’m not even sure how we pulled it back,” reflected McGuigan.

“The first goal was obviously something that gave us a bit of belief. As soon as our fans smell a bit of blood and they get a bit of energy - we’ve always said they are the 16th player as they give us so much energy.

“We’ve been here before and we’ve dug in deep for the last seven or eight years. We don’t always win, but you’ll guarantee a Slaughtneil team will always die with their boots on.

“When you have that mindset and you know you can always fall back on that, it will take you a long way.”

He added: I know the levels we got ourselves to the last day (against Cushendall) was hard to replicate.

“Even though we didn’t underestimate Portaferry one bit, a lot of the media and bookies had us down as massive favourites. I don’t know if, subconsciously, that sunk into a few heads in the teams.

“We knew they were a quality side and, going in at half-time, we knew we had to buck up our act in the second half. It took us a while, but we got there.”

Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox