Image source, InphoImage caption, Their last championship meeting was the 2023 All-Ireland SFC final that was won by Dublin
ByDavid MohanBBC Sport NI journalist- Published30 minutes ago
Every sport has its great rivalries, whether that is Barcelona-Real Madrid in football, New Zealand-South Africa in rugby, or Mexico-Puerto Rico when it comes to boxing.
Gaelic football is no different and when Dublin and Kerry go toe to toe, it is always special.
The counties have shared 70 All-Ireland titles between them, with Kerry leading the way on the roll of honour with 39 to Dublin's 31.
Over the years, they have met at various stages in the race for Sam Maguire with some unforgettable moments that are woven into the tapestry of the game.
While meetings between them had been fairly sporadic since 1893 when club champions represented the county as Dublin's Young Irelands defeated Laune Rangers, 1955's final would draw the first real line in the sand.
Kerry were by now regarded as an established force with 17 titles to their name, coming up against a Dublin side spearheaded by a young Kevin Heffernan, whose name would become synonymous with the rivalry.
As it was, Kerry claimed a 0-12 to 1-6 win over the city slickers in a game that drew a crowd in excess of 87,000.
Classic contests in a golden era of the 1970s
By the 1970s, Kerry remained at the top of the roll of honour, having won a 22nd title at the turn of the decade while Dublin won their 18th in '74 with Heffernan now manager.
The following year, led by a young Mick O'Dwyer, a youthful Kerry side landed into Dublin and with names such as Pat Spillane, Mikey Sheehy, Denis 'Ogie' Moran, Páidí Ó Sé and team captain Mickey 'Ned' O'Sullivan, they stunned the defending champions.
With John Egan and Ger O'Driscoll finding the net, Kerry would claim a 2-12 to 0-11 win, which would mark the beginning of a classic five-year saga.
The sides reunited in the following year's final, but this time it was Dublin's day as John McCarthy, Jimmy Keaveney and Brian Mullins hit the net on a day when a young Kevin Moran came of age.
Moran would go on to win FA Cup medals with Manchester United and appear at two World Cups with the Republic of Ireland, but before the switch, helped Dublin claim the following year's title with victory over Armagh.
Image source, InphoImage caption, Kerry enjoyed a golden era in the 1970s and '80s
They would account for Kerry in the semi-final, winning 3-12 to 1-13 as John McCarthy, David Hickey and Bernard Brogan hit the net in what is regarded of one of the greatest games of all time.
However, the brief Dublin dominance would end as they met again in the 1978 final, a game which produced one of the sport's most iconic moments when Mikey Sheehy took advantage of Dublin goalkeeper Paddy Cullen's protests over a free awarded against him as the Kerry man lobbed over the back-pedalling Cullen for a goal.
A hat-trick of goals from a fresh-faced Eoin 'Bomber' Liston helped the Kingdom to a thumping victory and there was no stopping them again when they met in the '79 final as two goals from Sheehy and another from Egan saw Kerry close out the decade in style.
Kerry would go on to deny Dublin in the finals of 1984 and '85, marking an end to this rivalry until a new millennium saw its return with a bang.
A new millennium and a rivalry reborn
Image source, InphoImage caption, Maurice Fitzgerald scored one of Gaelic football's most iconic points in the drawn 2001 All-Ireland quarter-final in Thurles
By 2001, Kerry had landed a 32nd All-Ireland title under the management of Ó Sé with victory over Galway the previous year, while Dublin had struggled since landing Sam for the 22nd time in 1995.
An All-Ireland quarter-final in Thurles saw Kerry enter as favourites and for long stages, the game went to script.
That was until a Vinnie Murphy-inspired revival helped Dublin edge ahead, only for Maurice Fitzgerald to score an equalising point with the outside of his boot from a sideline that is talked about to this day.
Kerry would finish the job in a replay and see off their old foes at the same stage in 2004.
While Dublin would push them hard in the 2007 semi-final, Kerry edged home but there was no doubt over a 2009 quarter-final.
On a Bank Holiday Monday, Dublin were viewed as the form team, but a first-minute goal by Colm Cooper set the tone as Kerry produced a jaw-dropping performance, romping to a 17-point win.
Dublin's dominance as Kerry rebuild
Image source, InphoImage caption, Stephen Cluxton scored Dublin's winning point in the 2011 All-Ireland final
Sometimes it takes just one moment and in the 2011 All-Ireland final, this rivalry would flip on its head.
With six minutes remaining and Kerry leading by four, Dublin substitute Kevin McManamon took a pass from Alan Brogan, rampaging forward and firing to the net.
With the sides level in added time, the Dubs were awarded a free and goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton held his nerve, striking sweetly with the left boot into Hill 16 to seal a first title in 17 years.
It proved the start of Dublin dominance and two years later at the semi-final stage, McManamon was at it again late on with Eoghan O'Gara following up with another goal as they helped turn a one-point deficit in the 67th minute into a seven-point win.
With Dublin's own golden era in flow, they would defeat Kerry in the 2015 final and again in 2019 after a replay with an Eoin Murchin goal the catalyst to seal an unprecedented five-in-a-row Sam Maguire successes, adding a sixth the following year, but down in the Kingdom they were preparing the fightback.
That 2019 final saw a new wave of Kerry stars make emerge including David Clifford and Sean O'Shea, and it was the boot of O'Shea which would settle another epic encounter between the pair.
Image source, InphoImage caption, Sean O'Shea scored the winner in 2022
In the 2022 All-Ireland semi-final, Kerry looked on course until a late Dublin comeback sparked by Cormac Costello's goal helped them get level.
However, in a role reversal to 2011, it was Kerry with an injury-time free into the Hill and O'Shea's missile from 50 meters helped his side into a final they would win in the third coming of manager Jack O'Connor.
One year later they met in the final: Kerry's young guns favourites, but Dublin's greats produced one last heroic stand to claim the title - the last time they have met in the championship.
It was typical of a fixture that has a habit of producing the unexpected.
From the iconic strikes of Sheehy and Fitzgerald, to the memorable goals by McManamon and Eoin Murchin, this rivalry has delivered time and again.
Will Clifford rule the roost on Sunday afternoon, or will it be Dublin's 'King Con' O'Callaghan who steals the show? Perhaps new heroes will emerge.
It's a rivalry that has stood the test of time and today, we may just witness another classic battle.
