Dublin and Mayo clash at Croke Park on Saturday evening in the All Ireland SFC final.
Saturday December 19
All Ireland SFC Final
Dublin v Mayo, Croke Park, 5pm
It is a fixture peppered with tasty sub plots. The last decade has been loaded with lively matches, dramatic draws, late scores, impact substitutes, and Dublin All Irelands.
In the Gaelic Football world a feeling persists that Mayo are the team with enough pace and power to seriously test Dublin.
The fact that James Horan has successfully integrated Oisin Mullin, Eoghan McLaughlin, Ryan O'Donoghue, and Tommy Conroy, amongst others, bodes well.
It appears these promising Mayo performers have the requisite tools to survive on the grand stage against an accomplished Dublin team.
In 10 Championship meetings since 1985 Dublin have won six, Mayo two, and a couple of draws occurred in 2015 and 2016.
Those nail biting matches linger in the memory and Mayo are likely to adopt a similarly high octane approach.
'Calculated risks' must be taken against Dublin according to James Horan, who really spearheaded Mayo's revival as a serious national force when taking charge in 2011.
Since then Dublin have enjoyed a brilliant stint, constantly evolving and introducing new talent. Ultimately the standout statistic is that Dublin haven't suffered a Championship loss since the All Ireland SFC semi-final of 2014.
In the intervening years they have won 38 and drawn three of their 41 Championship fixtures. It is a staggering and unprecedented level of consistency.
Mayo have generally delivered dynamic displays in the Croke Park arena and their athleticism was evident in the penultimate round when beating Tipperary.
Mayo's Paddy Durcan surrounded by Dublin's Brian Fenton and Jack McCaffrey.
An issue for the green and red was the amount of goal chances Tipperary crafted so Mayo will need to be much more solid structurally.
Dublin have the forward punch to punish any lapses with Ciaran Kilkenny and Dean Rock kicking 2-39 between them in four matches.
Con O'Callaghan is another tremendous talent with Brian Fenton again in splendid centrefield form.
Inevitably the manner in which James McCarthy and Robbie McDaid drive forward from deep will need to be monitored by Mayo, who will enter this contest armed with hope.
Cillian O'Connor's polished and prolific finishing culminated in a mammoth 4-9 tally when Tipperary were outfoxed.
Tommy Conroy is making swift progress in an attacking unit that has benefitted from Aidan O'Shea's self sufficiency winning possession inside.
McLaughlin and the excellent Paddy Durcan have the speed to cause Dublin bother too.
Mattie Ruane and Conor Loftus have been prominent for Mayo, who will be pumped for this battle.
Dublin's greatness has already been confirmed, but they will be wary of the western threat. It should be fast and furious.
DUBLIN: Stephen Cluxton; Michael Fitzsimons, David Byrne, Jonny Cooper; Eoin Murchan, John Small, Robbie McDaid; Brian Fenton, James McCarthy; Niall Scully, Ciaran Kilkenny, Sean Bugler; Paddy Small, Con O'Callaghan, Dean Rock.
MAYO: David Clarke; Chris Barrett, Oisin Mullin, Lee Keegan; Paddy Durcan, Stephen Coen, Eoghan McLaughlin; Conor Loftus, Matthew Ruane; Kevin McLoughlin, Ryan O'Donoghue, Diarmuid O'Connor; Tommy Conroy, Aidan O'Shea, Cillian O'Connor.
Luke Swan and Ciaran Archer following Dublin's EirGrid All Ireland Under 20 Championship semi-final win over Tyrone.
EirGrid All Ireland Under 20 Final
Dublin v Galway, Croke Park, 2.15pm
Following a deeply uncertain year, the All Ireland Under 20 decider will finally take place on Saturday afternoon.
It has been a particularly fractured competition due to the pandemic, but both camps are grateful to get an opportunity to play at Croke Park.
Having initially prepared for All Ireland semi-finals in March, those games didn't happen until October and the second lockdown ceased underage activity again.
So it has been a logistical challenge for Tom Gray and Donal O Fatharta to prepare their respective teams for this battle.
Despite missing a string of key players, Galway impressed when carving out a win over Kerry at the LIT Gaelic Grounds.
Dublin, too, demonstrated admirable resilience when overcoming Tyrone as Ciaran Archer provided a reminder of his considerable potential.
Brian O'Leary and Mark Lavin also clipped vital scores for Dublin, who overcame Longford, Meath, and Laois in Leinster.
Galway's first match culminated in a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Mayo and they have defeated Leitrim and Roscommon also.
DUBLIN: Josh O'Neill; Conor Tyrrell, Adam Rafter, Josh Bannon; Rory Dwyer, Adam Waddick, Lee Gannon; Adam Fearon, Mark O'Leary; Mark Lavin, Lorcan O'Dell, Sean Lowry; Ciaran Archer, Luke Swan, Brian O'Leary.
GALWAY: Conor Flaherty; Jonathan McGrath, Sean Fitzgerald, Jack Glynn; Cian Monahan, Tony Gill, Cathal Sweeney; Conor Raftery, Cian Hernon; Paul Kelly, Matthew Tierney, Ryan Monahan; Patrick Kelly, Tomo Culhane, Matthew Cooley.
