Since Kildare re-emerged as a force in the early 1990s under Mick O’Dwyer, games between themselves and Dublin have taken on a greater significance in the public mindset.
And while the Dubs have held sway in the majority of the contests, the Lilywhites did enjoy a couple of notable victories, namely in the 1998 Leinster quarter-final and 2000 Leinster final replay.
The latter encounter is one that Kildare fans will remember fondly.Trailing by 0-11 to 0-05 at half-time, O’Dwyer’s men were second best throughout and were fortunate to be only trailing by six points.
Whatever was said inside the Kildare dressing room at half-time had the desired effect. The team were transformed and within seconds of the restart, the ball was in the Dublin net from Dermot Earley.
From the kick-out, the white wave surged again towards Hill 16 and Tadhg Fennin slotted home a second goal. Dublin’s lead was wiped out and their game fell to pieces. They only managed one point in the second period, while their opponents split the post six times to run out 2-11 to 0-12 winners.
It’s interesting now to watch the half-time views of Colm O’Rourke and Pat Spillane on The Saturday Game and then to see what happened next.
It’s most unlikely we’ll see a similar scenario on Sunday next when the sides renew their rivalry in the Leinster semi-final at Croke Park, throw-in 4pm. The Dublin of 2015, you suspect, would have it in them to get up off the canvas if hit by a such a double whammy.
Jim Gavin’s side are going for a tenth Delaney Cup in 11 years – a stop-off on a journey that they hope will see them regain Sam Maguire in September.
Kildare’s year began with relegation to Division 3 in the spring. It wasn’t what the doctor ordered, and they came very close to exiting the Leinster campaign when they trailed Laois by three points with the clock ticking down on 6 June.
However, they showed no little character to salvage a draw and a commanding second-half performance saw them blitz the O’Moore County in the replay.
Confidence restored then for a testing examination this weekend.
Former Kildare star Johnny Doyle is hopeful that the underdogs can stay with Dublin for as long as possible.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, he said: “If the game is in the melting pot with 15 minutes to go then Dublin might say this is not in the script and we’re under a bit of pressure here. We’ll see then how they react.
“The Kildare lads have to think the Dubs are beatable and also have to ask them serious questions. You just have to stay with them as long as you can.”
Doyle, however, accepts the achieving the above will be difficult but he still clings to the hope that the Lilywhites will rise to the occasion.
“I can't see Kildare winning but I would like to think they can give a good account of themselves,” he added.
“We all know that Dublin have good footballers and have huge talent on the line, yet they can only play 15. If enough lads can say 'today is my day and I'm going to get the better of my man', well, who knows!"
The Allenwood clubman accepts that Dublin possess a lethal attacking thrust and that when the goals go in, heads, more than often, drop.
“When Dublin score goals against you, teams tend to accept that this is the way it's supposed to be. All of sudden from being two points down in a game, you're ten points down. If Longford were playing anybody else other than Dublin the last day and conceded goals, I think they would have found something to rally the troops.
"Against Dublin you’re in trouble when the work rate stops. They will crucify you. When they have you by the throat they will squeeze the life out of you.
"Kildare need to say 'we're after training for six months and for 70 minutes we'll go to the bitter end'. If one or two lads say 'this match is gone', then Dublin will beat you by ten or 15 points.
The replay win over Laois was definitely the pick-up Kildare needed after a disastrous league.
“I could see the confidence coming back” was Doyle’s summation after the 3-18 to 1-11 victory.
“I thought when they were three points behind against Laois the first day, that that was it.
“It took a bit of character to get them through the drawn game. In the replay, they found the confidence, threw back the shoulders and said let's have a go at this. When Kildare got their noses in front they really went for it.”
Doyle rightly says that Dublin will squeeze the life out of any team if they're are in the mood. Jason Ryan is now two years in the job, long enough to come up with a defensive system that can frustrate the Dubs.
Action on Jones’ Road begins with the other semi-final between Meath and Westmeath, throw-in 2pm.
Our analyst goes for the Royals to book a fourth consecutive Leinster final appearance.
“I give Meath a bit of a hesitant vote there. I know they didn't set the world on fire against Wicklow. When Meath get to Croke Park they become a different animal. Tom Cribbin, though has done a lot of good work with Westmeath so it will be tight.
"The little bit of experience that Meath have on big occasions might just see them through."
