When it finally ended, one of the Crossmaglen boys, slumped on the dressingroom bench, looked up at Joe Kernan and said: "I thought you were going to read us the riot act."

The big man just grinned. "I knew this day was coming. The astonishing thing was that it didn't happen before now. I said after last year's All-Ireland that if we were to win the Armagh championship this time, it would be as much as we could expect. We are naturally disappointed with this, but it wasn't humanly possible for us to do anymore. 'Blaney played so well, they were the hungrier and they deserved it."

Crossmaglen have been such an omnipotent force on the club scene that their loss on Saturday to Castleblaney was scarcely believable. For the past four winters, they embarked on memorable Ulster campaigns and produced tough games and timeless results. A mix of big-boned competitiveness and silken skill, they went on to claim three All-Irelands in the last four years. Now, it has ended. Or perhaps not.

"There won't be any mass exodus," says Kernan. "We have to play our county semi-final next week and after that competition we will all take a break and go off and enjoy ourselves. But I mean, even Jim (McConville, one of Armagh football's most enduring servants) was talking on the bus about coming back after a break. But these lads have been going for years now, three four nights a week. You can only sustain it for so long. So we knew this would happen. I'm quite happy to go away and unwind and then come back again."

So forbidding is Crossmaglen's reputation that their departure will be greeted in much the same vein as was Meath's in last year's All-Ireland championship.

They crafted an unparalleled record throughout the 1990s and have been described in various quarters as the best club side of all time. Their cruise to last year's All-Ireland title was notable for the imperious comfort with which the team dispatched opposition as the competition wore on. After grafting out tight wins in Ulster, they stretched their limbs in spring and swamped a skilful young UCC side before subduing a fancied Na Fianna in the final.

"If you had told people six or seven years ago what the club was about to accomplish, well, you would probably have been laughed at," says Kernan. "Whatever we may do in the future remains to be seen, but we have an awful lot to look back on and I think we made a few friends along the way. We have nothing more to give right now, and that's the beauty and sadness of the thing. "Things move on, teams come through. In a way, it'll be a long winter around the town this year because football is the main thing we have in the town. But 'Blaney pushed us hard before and now it's coming good for them."

That Crossmaglen, who possess lethal score getters in Oisin McConville and Cathal Shortt, managed but five points in the entire match, highlighted the extent of their tiredness.

"Well, we actually created a few goal chances early on," says Kernan. "So maybe they would have put a better look on the score. But yeah, it was a tough game and scores were hard to come by and we just couldn't find a way to break them down. It's as disappointing as ever, but you have to accept these things."