The younger generation of 20-something male handballers now hold most of the major titles, writes Paul Fitzpatrick.
In the end, it was probably more comfortable than we expected. After an open All-Ireland 40x20 Senior Singles Championship, last St Patrick's Day, a new champion was crowned when Galway's Martin Mulkerrins took the title across the Shannon to the west for the first time since the 1980s.
In defeating the holder Charly Shanks, who is eight years his senior, on a 21-11, 21-9 scoreline, Mulkerrins (25) confirmed what some would argue is a changing of the guard. The younger generation have asserted themselves, just as Paul Brady, Tony Healy and Eoin Kennedy did 15 years ago and more, and Ducksy Walsh, Walter O'Connor, Eddie Corbett and Co did before them again.
It was re-assuring for the neutrals. Every sport needs fresh blood to rejuvenate it and the elite 40x20 men's game has it now. The 20-somethings are no longer taking part, to quote yer man from Crumlin, they're taking over.
That feeling deepened when Clare's Diarmaid Nash and Colin Crehan followed up by winning the corresponding doubles title against the greatest 40x20 pairing of them all, Paul Brady and Michael Finnegan.
The age profile of those vying for the top honours in the 40x20 game seems younger than before.
Take Boston-based Killian Carroll (whose accent is starting to betray his Mallow roots!). The world champion has made no secret of the fact that he, too, has designs on winning the All-Ireland Senior Singles title and could return this side of the pond to contest it before too long.
He proved in his last outing that, at 24, he is now the leading Irish 40x20 player - more proof, not it was needed, that the the power has shifted to the younger players.
Carroll went toe-to-toe with Mulkerrins in the final of that tournament in what, like most 'small alley' matches at the elite level now, was a shoot-out. Both men were peppering the bottom board the way a darts player finds double top - incessant, relentless, deadly accuracy. When the smoke cleared, though, Carroll was the one still standing.
Why do we bring this up now? Well, with the 60x30 season wrapped up following an amazing Senior Doubles final last Saturday night in Croke Park, just in time for the clocks to go back, thoughts will turn to the small court again. There are so many questions.
Can Mulkerrins retain his crown? Will Nash close the gap? Can McCarthy do what the boxing writers used to say couldn't be done and come back to reclaim it? Could Shanks, for that matter, do the same or will we see a new superpower emerge, a two-handed gunslinger like Crehan, maybe, or even someone younger?
The true splendour of it is that we can't tell - we can only speculate. The upcoming elite tournaments, beginning with the Golden Gloves, will drop some hints but at this juncture, it's all rumour. For now, anything is possible - and it's beautiful.
Yes, it's only October and we are talking about the new year already but that's how it works in handball. It reminds us of what the brilliant Irish Times sportswriter Keith Duggan termed the GAA's "lifelong season" - in our game, there is always another Major just around the corner.
Still, we should take time to savour the epic match we witnessed a few days ago.
The dust has barely settled on Saturday night when Meath's Gary McConnell and Brian Carroll came through in a contest that had everything - awesome killing, furious rallying and, most impressively of all, outrageous picking of the ball in the front court.
McConnell delivered a revelatory performance and was the difference, just about. After a nervy start - he made 11 hand errors in the opening game - the first-time finalist found his groove and his ability to end rallies with flat rollouts was probably the difference in the end.
It all reminded this writer of something the great Eugene Downey said in passing, moments after inflicting a masterful beating on his over-matched opponent (mé féin) in a Dublin championship match.
"When you're younger, you're just more gung ho," he remarked.
And those words ring true. While former champions Eoin Kennedy and Carl Browne dug their heels in and delivered their customary quality performances, the youngest and least decorated combatant in the court - not that he is a kid, you understand - came up with the couple of crucial shots that made the difference. He was gung ho...
There was a lesson there for any youngster watching on. A gap is emerging in the 60x30 market for anyone canny enough and aggressive enough to claim their share of the trade, someone who backs themselves and just goes for it.
At the top end of the 40x20 ladder, space is a little more limited but there is room for someone, if they want it enough, to gate-crash that party too. Or, just maybe, a former king will re-take the throne, the empire striking back. Who knows?
One thing is certain - the veteran former champions will not go gently into that good night; the next 12 months could well be the most exciting for handball in a generation.
Handball folk sometimes have a tendancy towards the negative but, with Saturday's spectacle still fresh in the memory and the 40x20 season opening up before us, we should be grateful for what we have: some of the most talented athletes in the country at the peak of their powers, putting it all on the line in the greatest sport of them all.
Roll on 2019!