Crystal Palace beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in Leipzig on Wednesday night with a Jean-Philippe Mateta goal early in the second half, lifting the trophy in their first-ever European final and completing a remarkable two-and-a-half-year period under Oliver Glasner that also brought the club's first-ever FA Cup and Community Shield.
Parish, speaking to TNT Sports immediately after the final whistle, was visibly emotional.
"To be in Europe, travelling round Europe, is one thing — but to come and win it is incredible and it hasn't really sunk in," he said. "It's an incredible achievement. The players, the staff, all of the ups and downs we've had this season, it's brilliant to get here and to get into the Europa League where we deserve to be."
He was careful to acknowledge the weight of what Glasner has done in the time he spent at Selhurst Park, but he also turned quickly to the future.
"We have got a taste for it now. We want to keep it going. We have gone up a level and we have got to try and stay there. We will have a week to celebrate and then work hard in the summer."
Glasner departs having won three trophies — each of them the first in the club's history.
Parish's reflection on the journey since he bought the club in 2010, taking them from the brink of administration to European champions, was delivered with genuine humility.
"When I bought the club I wasn't sure we'd ever play in Europe, let alone win a trophy. It's a dream come true."
He ended on a line that captured both the season's turbulence and its outcome.
"It just shows that sometimes the good guys win in the end."
Palace now enter the Europa League group stage next season for the first time. The task this summer is to build a squad capable of competing in two competitions simultaneously — and to do so under a new manager, with Glasner's successor yet to be announced.
The trophy cabinet at Selhurst Park, empty for 156 years, now holds three.