"There's a national title on the line, so it's something we want to win"- Niall Ó Ceallacháin

Three weekends, two huge games for Niall Ó Ceallacháin and his Dublin hurlers.

First up is Sunday's trip to Limerick to face Clare in the Allianz National Hurling League Division 1B final. With promotion already secured, a first piece of national silverware since winning the same title in 2013 is the prize on offer.

Just under a fortnight later, there'll be another road trip, to Tullamore, for Round 1 of the Leinster SHC round robin against Offaly.

Ó Ceallacháin doesn't mind saying it, he's greedy for two wins.

"What I'd say is, at the end of the day there's a national title on the line this weekend so it's something that we want to win, that we definitely want to win," said the Dublin manager regarding Sunday's League decider.

"Winning is a habit and it's really important that when we're playing against these top teams, which Clare certainly are, that we're getting used to actually winning against them. So, yeah, a really important game in that regard.

"What I would also say is that two weeks later, we're away in Offaly and if we don't have a positive result on that day, it'll be long forgotten if we win this Sunday against Clare. Ultimately it's all about the Championship but we'd love to have a national title to our name on Sunday night as well."

Only the elite few get to claim those titles.

"In Dublin hurling, we don't have a lot of it," said the Na Fianna man of national final wins. "If you're not including the Walsh Cup, you're going back to those wins in the early 2010s, aren't you? So nobody in Dublin is understating the importance of this final from that side of things. Winning trophies is definitely a habit and one we'd love to get into."

It's that habit, or consistency of performances at the elite level, that Ó Ceallacháin is truly chasing. If Dublin can deliver that, week after week, season after season, then the results will follow, and the titles. He did that with Na Fianna, turning them into serial winners in the capital, and beyond, despite having no particular history of success prior to their county senior breakthrough in 2023.

So far as Dublin manager, he has his team trending in the same direction, pulling off a landmark Croke Park win over Limerick in last year's Championship and now, early in season two, steering the Sky Blues to the cusp of a coveted League title.

Like the win over Limerick, taking down Clare would amount to a statement win from Dublin.

"And I think it is fair to say that we have, in Dublin, won some of those sorts of games over the years but what we've never been able to do is to win them week on week, and win them consistently," he said.

"If you're calling them statement wins, yeah, certainly the Limerick game last year was in that bracket but two weeks later then we fell short against Cork.

"For Dublin hurling, it's not about one-off statement wins anymore, it can't be. The big challenge for us is being able to replicate it week on week because if you want to win something, that's what you have to do.

"And that's relevant to our situation in Division 1A for next year as well. I have no doubt that there will be a big performance or two from us but what you need to do is to be doing that week on week in order to be competing, to secure your status or to win the likes of 1A next year."

The return of former All-Star and captain Liam Rushe to the panel, along with Cian Boland, has excited supporters. Ó Ceallacháin and his management team have looked at 31 others so far in the League, tweaking and testing and trying things out with a view to being better again than they were last year.

Clare, the 2024 All-Ireland champions, will stress test just how far Dublin have progressed. When the sides met in Round 1 of the League, Clare edged a cracking game in Ennis, winning by just two points.

"I'm expecting obviously a huge challenge and a step up in intensity from the last few weeks," said Ó Ceallacháin. "That game was very, very tight at the end of January but it was the end of January too. We're both only a couple of weeks out from the Championship now so Clare and ourselves will be looking to be sharper and to be in a better place than we were at the end of January. It's an important game for us, an important game for them. We're expecting a huge challenge obviously as they prepare for the Championship."