By Michael McMullan

THE smile on Shea Shannon’s face says it all. St John’s are flicking the switch onto Ulster mode but it’s impossible not to still be buzzing.

After stepping out of the Antrim semi-final shadow, St John’s finished what they started and ended their county championship in the perfect fashion.

They now move into the Ulster arena against Donegal newcomers Setanta this weekend.

They prepared well, hurled better than ever and let their hair down in style. Championships are there to be celebrated.

“Everybody was on cloud nine,” said Shannon, joint-captain with Ciaran Johnston. “It was just pure and utter relief more than anything.

“It’s been a long time coming for us, especially getting over that semi-final hurdle.”

Having hurled for the seniors since breaking through in 2017, he’s lost count of their semi-final defeats.

While there have been a lot, the margin of defeat echoed what St John’s knew – they were in the mix. It was about keeping hammering at the door.

If the semi-final was about finding a way, the final was about expression and keeping their eyes on the prize.

“It’s just a special group,” Shannon said about being inside the Johnnies’ bubble.

“We’ve been through it all and every year we’ve added in two or three extra lads.”

This year it has been Enda McGurk and Ronan Donnelly. There have been others. The changing faces follow the leaders. Collectively, it’s powerful. Add in a desire to get hands on the Volunteer Cup.

The semi-final win over Cushendall was massive but Shannon digs deeper again. Rossa went into the quarter-finals as league champions and St John’s took notice.

“That Rossa game stood by us a lot this year,” he said. “Being able to get over the line and get over that Rossa team, when they started to come back at us, in terms of belief, that match stood by us a lot.

“We always knew we were capable of beating the Cushendall team. No disrespect to them and they’re an amazing team, but we always believed in our own ability and the fact that we could beat them.”

St John’s will run out at Owenbeg on Saturday evening with the aim of booking another final spot, but their run this year is worth more than the here and now.

They’ve made memories and with that comes a level of inspiration. The senior team is the club’s identity but there is more below the surface.

“If you’d seen the club in the weeks after the final, with the lads bringing the cup down to kids’ trainings,” Shannon pointed out.

“The look on the kids’ faces, the look on faces of the older generation in the club, it just means a lot.

“It means a lot for not just us, but the whole entire club and the future of the club and what it does for those kids.

“They know now that it’s possible so that gives them the belief and they want to keep playing.”

Shannon hopes to be hurling alongside some of them one day. For now, they crave an Ulster final spot. They’ve waited long enough.