Sam on way to Donegal, suggests Ray Silke

MY brother Brian was corner back for the Galway minors in 1986 when they beat Cork in the All-Ireland final. Later that afternoon Kerry beat Tyrone in the senior game. Brian is 45 now and in the intervening 28 years Kerry have since failed to defeat an Ulster team in an All-Ireland senior final.

Armagh and Tyrone have lowered the Kingdom’s flag three times in the ultimate game of the season since then, and Down (2010) and Donegal in 2012 have both taken them out in the quarter-finals in the more recent past.

Yes, despite Kerry defeating Ulster teams in the interim, the fact remains the most decorated county in Gaelic football have found the top Ulster teams incredibility difficult to counteract over the past decade and a half.