Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Time for some Kerry lads to step out of the shadows

Since they made their debuts together against Clare in 2018, David Clifford and Seánie O’Shea have accounted for more than 50% of Kerry's scores in championship

CRUCIAL MOMENT: Kerry’s Paudie Clifford scores a fisted point at a crucial juncture in last year's semi-final. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie

Kerry and Dublin is the most fabled rivalry in Gaelic football going back to their first championship encounter in 1893 when Dublin beat Kerry in Clonturk Park, to secure the 1892 championship and secure the first back-to-back. 

The rivalry was ushered into the modern era by a Sam Maguire tug-of-war in the mid-70s which also coincided with the advent of colour television in Ireland, further illuminating and romanticising the tussles. The urban-rural divide, coupled with the larger-than-life characters on both sides ensured the stories lived on long after the battles.