One of the most surprising aspects of last weekend’s drawn All-Ireland semi-final wasn’t so much that Dublin were reeled in when seven points up with over an hour gone, but that they still appear to be carrying the scars of last year’s semi- final defeat to Donegal.

An old joke much beloved of science students from a past life of mine: If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitate.

All the signs point to Cork and Dublin victories in Croke Park tomorrow.

Though we live in a world that dreams of ending

They say nobody remembers the league but the truth is we all face into the spring competition hoping for something memorable.

"It doesn’t matter what you do because it’s going to happen anyway."

It was the Conamara man who got me thinking about it after the second day of a seismic weekend of football at the tail end of last month.

Where to start with that great big beast of a game? Best to start at the finish, and in the frantic moments that preceded it.

The fact it’s Kerry providing the opposition in Croke Park is a huge motivating factor for Mayo to show their maturity andreadiness for battle

It’s only when you observe inevitable wars of attrition, such as that we seem destined for in the first quarter-final at Croke Park this evening, that you fully appreciate what this Dublin team have brought to the game these past two seasons.