On the eve of yet another Dublin-Kerry All-Ireland final, three Dublin players have a chance of surpassing a quintet of Kerry greats and winning a ninth All-Ireland title.
The two greatest Gaelic football sides of all-time left an indelible impression on the game and the culture surrounding it. Here's an offbeat look at their highlights and lowlights.
KERRY (1975-86)
Best performance
The 1979 campaign, where no one got within an asses' roar, was probably their peak. The signature performance of the era was the previous year's decider against Dublin in 1978. Between Mikey Sheehy's dink over Paddy Cullen and the Bomber Liston's hat-trick, it may be the most famous All-Ireland of the Micko era.
Cult hero
Too many to mention. Mikey Sheehy was probably the most stylish and most modern player. Pat Spillane was one of the most energetic and influential. Jack O'Shea was reckoned to be the most athletically gifted and complete player. The Bomber gained a certain cult status due to his destructive abilities inside and his Castaway appearance. But the charismatic folk hero Paidí Ó Sé - who latterly coaxed Dolly Parton and Tom Cruise down to Ventry and received his PR advice from Charles Haughey - has to get the nod.
Provincial skirmishes
Needless to say, their only real opposition was Cork, who were far from a walkover, although they were continually tormented. But for Tadhg Murphy's famous late goal in '83, Kerry would have won 12 on the trot in Munster.
"The second best team in Ireland," Micko used to call them, when making his annual call to their dressing room to commiserate.
"Billy [Morgan] used hate when he'd do that!" Con Murphy recalled, wincing, on Tomás Ó Sé's podcast a couple of years ago.
Toughest All-Ireland
They were youthful underdogs when catching the Dubs in 1975.
The 1980 All-Ireland, when they triumphed despite an exhibition by Offaly's Matt Connor in the semi-final, and had to withstand a ferocious pummelling from Roscommon in the decider, is up there.
However, 1985, when they were beginning to show their age may get the nod here. Needed a replay to get past Monaghan and then survived a late onslaught from the Dubs in the final to get home for another title. Contrasted sharply from the cakewalk 12 months earlier.
Most straightforward All-Ireland
1984 - with Jacko hitting his absolute peak - was won with a minimum of fuss. But it has to be 1979. It began with the Massacre of Milltown Malbay and an infamous 36-point win over Clare. There followed a 10-point dismissal of Cork.
Monaghan were brutalised 5-14 to 0-07 in the semis and then Mikey Sheehy gave an exhibition as they breezed past a jaded and aging Dublin side by 11 in the final. One of the most dominant All-Ireland wins of all time.
Chief nemesis
Heffo's Army were eventually seen off. The Dubs' only All-Ireland post-77 was in the year Kerry got caught in Munster.
No, it was Eugene McGee and his Offaly team that left them with the deepest scars.
Greatest disappointment
No debate here. The 1982 All-Ireland final is the most heavily memorialised All-Ireland final in history. The centrepiece of a few documentaries and one great book in Michael Foley's Kings of September. In Kerry, they would probably rather it was called The Nudge.
Their Waterloo
"It would be nice to report that the last hurrah of the great Kerry team sent the mountains ringing. Sadly, all we heard at Fitzgerald Stadium, in Killarney yesterday, was a hoarse whisper, and an undefiant one at that."
So wrote Sean Kilfeather in his report from Killarney on Monday, 3 August 1987 - yes, that's how late the Munster final replay was that year. The three-in-a-row champions had only scored 1-05 and were soundly beaten by Billy Morgan's Cork. Mikey Sheehy retired immediately afterwards. The golden years were over and Kerry's football recession had begun.
Standard anecdote
"After winning the 1984 All-Ireland we had gotten bored of the usual hot spots. So we decided to take ourselves off the Marshall Islands, a series of small islands in the Pacific that were largely uninhabited as a result of being used as a US nuclear test site for the previous 35 years.
"Anyway, the main hotel there was owned by a chap from Killorglin. He laid on everything for us. We had a big communal hot tub which was filled with stout. Paidí would usually be ents manager but he missed that trip altogether as he was holed up in Innisvickilane when we caught the flight.
"We had arranged to play a game against the locals but we were a bit worse for wear. The tallest of them was 5ft 2 but they were a nippy bunch.
"In our hungover state, we got caught on the hop. We trailed by six heading the last 10 minutes but the Bomber Liston, who'd been in awful state for most of the game, came alive and buried three goals at the death to get us the win.
"The natives were in awe of the Bomber and his rugged, biblical visage and imposing stature. They placed wreaths around him which apparently meant he was now the honorary king of the island.
"The following year, we were coming off the pitch after beating the Dubs again and Bomber turned to me and said that made him "the only reigning monarch to win an All-Ireland in Croke Park!"
"I last met Bomber on the 12th hole on Amen Corner after Jordan Spieth dunked his ball in the pond and we had a great old laugh about it. A few members in green jackets had to tell us to whisht."
(*Delivered to the Kerryman's association dinner in Wellington)
DUBLIN (2011-2020)
Best performance
2017 All-Ireland semi-final - Close competition from their 2019 semi-final blitzkrieg of Mayo but the surgical and devastating '17 semi-final dismissal of Tyrone, which included a stunning early goal from Con O'Callaghan, was their masterpiece. Three years after their sickening loss to Donegal, the blanket lay in tatters.
Cult hero
Diarmuid Connolly - Despite close competition from Clucko and James McCarthy, no man was idolised more by the Hill than Diarmuid Connolly.
Provincial skirmishes
From 2013 onwards, rare was the day they were held to a single-digit margin win. For most of this period, their trickiest assignment was keeping a straight face in interviews when insisting that a tough test lay in store.
Toughest All-Ireland
Their most thrilling All-Ireland victory was probably in 2013, although the toughest was surely 2016, when a late surge carried them past Kerry in the semis and they needed a replay to get over Mayo in a tense final.
Most straightforward All-Ireland
Though it was Dessie's first year, the Covid championship saw them face little obstacle until the All-Ireland final. The pandemic presented its own challenges and Mayo tore into them in the second quarter as usual.
No, the most straightforward has to be 2018, where no one got near them from beginning to end. Regular foes Mayo and Kerry were taken out relatively early and Tyrone were soundly dispatched in the decider. The closest they came to a lop-sided final win.
Chief nemesis
Mayo footballers and the #splitDublin lobby online.
Greatest disappointment
They were strangers to disappointment for most of the 2010s, though the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final has to win here by virtue of being the only real candidate. Win or learn, they tell us, and they learned enough from the Donegal defeat to last them seven years.
The game began their slow transformation from the explosive, cavalier outfit of the early Jim Gavin era to the robotic, measured winning machine they became by the back end of the decade.
Their Waterloo
Mayo 2021 - their form fell off a cliff that year for reasons that remain obscure. The controversy surrounding their clandestine, rule-breaking training session and the departure of Stephen Cluxton from the squad can't have helped.
Standard anecdote
"After losing to Kerry in 2009, Pat decided we needed to toughen up. Between November and January that winter, we were ou' in DCU, training every night at 2.30am. And then again at dawn.
"After about seven or eight sessions, I turns to Michael Dara and I says, 'you know you're allowed pick up the ball here?' He never looked back after tha'."
(*Delivered on The Performance and Wellness podcast)
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