THIS WEEKEND’S ALL-Ireland semi-final showdown between Kerry and Dublin inevitably conjures up memories of the great battles of the 1970s between these two heavyweight counties.
However, the two teams have produced some thrilling episodes since those halcyon days for Gaelic football and this Sunday’s clash between the two most successful teams in the big ball game will be their fourth championship meeting since 2007.
We look here at some of the stand-out moments in their fabled rivalry, from the middle of the last century, right up to Stephen Cluxton’s iconic winning free in the 2011 final.
This was just the fourth-ever meeting between the counties in an All-Ireland Final, and a first in 31 years. A then record crowd of 87,102 saw Kerry defeat Dublin in a game that left a lasting impression on Dublin full forward Kevin Heffernan. Rumours have it that Dublin legend Des Ferguson blamed the defeat on the media building Dublin up to outrageous heights.
The next final showdown between the two was the start of a series of games that defined the GAA for many years. Dublin, under now manager Kevin Heffernan, were defending champions but were caught on the hop by a young Kerry side who would go onto become legends.
Realistically though, the moment from that day that has gone down in infamy was the series of tackles that saw Kerry captain Mickey Ned O’Sullivan knocked out cold as he raced through on goal. Cynical, one might say.
Dublin had gained revenge for their defeat in ’75 when they recorded a 3-8 to 0-10 victory over Kerry 12 months later. In 1977 the two teams met again, this time in the All-Ireland semi-final and produced what is generally regarded as one of the finest games ever. Bernard Brogan Snr decorated the last four clash with a wonderful goal that led the great Michael O’Hehir to utter one of his most famous lines.
The game that launched “The Bomber,” a nickname enthusiastically apportioned to every full forward in the country ever since, Liston produced a masterclass as Kerry began their four-in-a-row assault. (Keep an eye out for a pass from Pat Spillane around the 4min41s mark that would cause the great man to spontaneously combust were a player to try it this weekend. )
Two Joe McNally goals almost brought Dublin victory in one of the best games between the two sides, but the 1985 final is most fondly remembered for the late, great, Páidí Ó Sé’s brilliant acceptance speech as Gaeilge.
7. The trip to Tipp
A first meeting since the ’85 decider, Dublin and Kerry were drawn together in 2001, the first year of the back-door system, in the All-Ireland quarter final.
Maurice Fitzgerald brought Kerry back from the brink in the first tumultuous game in Semple Stadium, Thurles after Vinny Murphy’s scene-stealing entrance and late goal.
Johnny Crowley proved the hero in the replay when he bagged 2-2 — unfortunately evidence of these goals is hard to come by these days!
Kerry qualified for a fourth successive All Ireland final when they saw off the Dubs in a cracking semi-final that went down to the wire. Declan O’Sullivan’s goal was the difference between the teams on the day, a goal created by Colm Cooper’s vision and guidance.
Dublin manager Pat Gilroy coined the memorable phrase “startled earwigs” after he saw his team dismantled by a ruthless Kerry in the All-Ireland quarter-final. Kerry were supposed to be a team on the wane but Colm Cooper’s goal inside the first minute signalled their intent in a brilliant display that set them on the road to yet another September triumph.
Kerry were cruising as it looked like Dublin’s first appearance in a final since 1995 was about to end in failure. Enter Kevin McManamon. The second-half substitute threw the game wide open when he waltzed through to score seven minutes from the end of normal time. Even though Kerry still led, the momentum was with Dublin and eventually they prevailed thanks to…
Stephen Cluxton sealed his place in folklore when he stepped up to drive over the winning point with virtually the last kick of the game. Kerry were beaten, Dublin were champions again, and the Hill went mental.
Have we missed any? What are your favourite Dublin v Kerry memories?
What id like to know is how much time is wasted in every game for goalkeepers especially Cluxton to come up the field and take frees?? Have teams no free takers anymore?? Took Cluxton 2 mins that day and time was not added on…… crazy stuff
Any free taker ready to take a potential All Ireland winning free would take as long as possible!! On a normal free Cluxton is normally as quick as anyone taking them. And only slowed down by opposition players trying to wind him up (ie: v Kildare & Meath this year). As for Dublin not having another free taker it’s unfortunate but neither B.Brogan or Mannion are as consistently accurate!
I’ll never forget “the boys in blue” screamed out in Croker when Cian O’Sullivan went down injured in ’11. I have never heard anything like it before. It did something because McManomon had the ball in the back of the net a few minutes later. My favourite moment was Kevin Nolan’s point near the end. When that went over it was the first time I thought were gonna win this. But you have to take your hat off to Kieran Donaghy for his equaliser for Kerry near the end, it was a quality point under pressure and so far out. 18th of September 2011, best day of my life.
Mbappe among three Real Madrid players fined for 'indecent conduct'
40 mins ago
0
FreeAs it happened
Greece v Ireland, Nations League
56 mins ago
4
Sign in or create a free account
To continue reading create a free account
Or sign into an existing account
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 164 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.Privacy Policy
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 111 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 146 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 116 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 85 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 85 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 39 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 35 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 136 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 61 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 76 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 84 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 47 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 93 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 100 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 73 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 55 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 91 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 69 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
What id like to know is how much time is wasted in every game for goalkeepers especially Cluxton to come up the field and take frees?? Have teams no free takers anymore?? Took Cluxton 2 mins that day and time was not added on…… crazy stuff
it was approx 56 seconds, well documented at this stage…….
Any free taker ready to take a potential All Ireland winning free would take as long as possible!! On a normal free Cluxton is normally as quick as anyone taking them. And only slowed down by opposition players trying to wind him up (ie: v Kildare & Meath this year). As for Dublin not having another free taker it’s unfortunate but neither B.Brogan or Mannion are as consistently accurate!
Funniest sight every dubs parking up in twomileborris, thinking they were in thurles walking around looking for the stadium!!
I’ll never forget “the boys in blue” screamed out in Croker when Cian O’Sullivan went down injured in ’11. I have never heard anything like it before. It did something because McManomon had the ball in the back of the net a few minutes later. My favourite moment was Kevin Nolan’s point near the end. When that went over it was the first time I thought were gonna win this. But you have to take your hat off to Kieran Donaghy for his equaliser for Kerry near the end, it was a quality point under pressure and so far out. 18th of September 2011, best day of my life.
Dublin will destroy these dirtbirds on Sunday
Up Kerry.
Hope some of the Dubs get what Mickey Ned O Sullivan got in 75…….shower of Apes