CORK are through to the Bank of Ireland senior football championship final on September 16 and now it's the turn of Dublin and Kerry to attempt to join them when they clash in the second semi-final in Croke Park next Sunday (3.30).

Dublin-Kerry rivalry always has a magical ring to it but the counties haven't met as often as they used to in recent times, which gives Sunday's game a special edge. This will, in fact, be their first All-Ireland semi-final clash since 1977, a game that has come to be regarded as one of the greatest in championship history.

Unlike Cork and Meath who reached the semi-finals via the qualifiers, Dublin and Kerry have both remained unbeaten and arrive at the semi-final stage as Leinster and Munster champions respectively. Cork's 1-16 to 0-9 win over Meath last Sunday earned them a place in the final for the first time since 1999.

PATHS TO THE SEMI-FINAL
DUBLIN
Dublin 1-11 Meath 0-14 (Leinster quarter-final)
Dublin 0-16 Meath 0-12 (replay)
Dublin 1-12 Offaly 0-10 (Leinster semi-final)
Dublin 3-14 Laois 1-14 (Leinster final)
Dublin 0-18 Derry 0-15 (All-Ireland quarter-final)
Average For: 1-15; Average Against: 0-14

Dublin Scorers
Mark Vaughan..........1-23
Conal Keaney.............0-17
Alan Brogan...............2-8
Bernard Brogan.........1-4
Tomas Quinn.............0-5
Ciaran Whelan..........0-4
Colin Moran..............0-4
Jason Sherlock..........0-3
Shane Ryan................0-1
David Henry..............0-1
Gerard Brennan.......0-1
Joe Quinn (Offaly)...1-0*
*Own Goal

KERRY
Kerry 2-15 Waterford 0-4 (Munster semi-final);
Kerry 1-15 Cork 1-13 (Munster final)
Kerry 1-12 Monaghan 1-11 (All-Ireland quarter-final)
Average For: 1-15; Average Against: 0-12

Kerry Scorers
Colm Cooper...............1-10
Mike Frank Russell....0-11
Eoin Brosnan..............2-4
Declan O'Sullivan......1-3
Kieran Donaghy.........0-2
Paul Galvin.................0-2
Paul O'Connor...........0-2
Sean O'Sullivan.........0-2
Tomas O Se................0-2
Bryan Sheehan...........0-2
Marc O Se..................0-1
Killian Young............0-1


DUBLIN v KERRY: PREVIOUS CHAMPIONSHIP CLASHES
Dublin and Kerry have clashed 23 times in the All-Ireland championship with Kerry winning 15 to Dublin's six while there have been two draws. Dublin's last win over Kerry was in 1977 and since then Kerry have won six and drawn one of the seven games between two great rivals.
The counties have clashed eight times in All-Ireland semi-finals with Kerry winning five to Dublin's two while one was drawn.

2004: Kerry 1-15 Dublin 1-8 (All-Ireland quarter-final)
2001: Kerry 2-12 Dublin 1-12 (All-Ireland quarter-final replay)
2001: Kerry 1-14 Dublin 2-11 (All-Ireland quarter-final)
1985: Kerry 2-12 Dublin 2-8 (All-Ireland final)
1984: Kerry 0-14 Dublin 1-6 (All-Ireland final)
1979: Kerry 3-13 Dublin 1-8 (All-Ireland final)
1978: Kerry 5-11 Dublin 0-9 (All-Ireland final)
1977: Dublin 3-12 Kerry 1-13 (All-Ireland semi-final)*
1976: Dublin 3-8 Kerry 0-10 (All-Ireland final)
1975: Kerry 2-12 Dublin 0-11 (All-Ireland final)
1965: Kerry 4-8 Dublin 2-6 (All-Ireland semi-final)*
1962: Kerry 2-12 Dublin 0-10 (All-Ireland semi-final)*
1959: Kerry 1-10 Dublin 2-5 (All-Ireland semi-final)*
1955: Kerry 0-12 Dublin 1-6 (All-Ireland final)
1941: Kerry 2-9 Dublin 0-3 (All-Ireland semi-final replay)*
1941: Kerry 0-4 Dublin 0-4 (All-Ireland semi-final)*
1934: Dublin 3-8 Kerry 0-6 (All-Ireland semi-final)*
1932: Kerry 1-3 Dublin 1-1 (All-Ireland semi-final)*
1924: Kerry 0-4 Dublin 0-3 (All-Ireland final)
1923: Dublin 1-5 Kerry 1-3 (All-Ireland final)
1908: Dublin 0-10 Kerry 0-3 (All-Ireland final)
1904: Kerry 0-5 Dublin 0-2 (All-Ireland final)
1892 Dublin 1-4 Kerry 0-3 (All-Ireland final)
*All-Ireland semi-finals
Played 23: Kerry 15, Dublin 6, Draws 2.

LAST CHAMPIONSHIP CLASH
Kerry 1-15 Dublin 1-8 (2004 All-Ireland quarter-final)

Kerry: Diarmuid Murphy; Tom O'Sullivan, Michael McCarthy, Aidan O'Mahony; Tomas O Se, Eamon Fitzmaurice, Marc O Se; Darragh O Se, Paddy Kelly; Eoin Brosnan, Declan O'Sullivan, Paul Galvin; Colm Cooper, Dara O Cinneide, Mike Frank Russell.
Subs: Liam Hassett for Russell; William Kirby for Kelly; Johnny Crowley for Declan O'Sullivan, John Sheehan for Tomas O Se, Sean O'Sullivan for O'Mahony.

Dublin: Stephen Cluxton; Barry Cahill, Paddy Christie, Paul Griffin; Paul Casey, Bryan Cullen, Shane Ryan; Darren Homan, Darren Magee; Conal Keaney, Ciaran Whelan, Senan Connell; Alan Brogan, Ian Robertson, Jason Sherlock.
Subs: Tomas Quinn for Keaney, Ray Cosgrove for Robertson, Jonathon Magee for Whelan, Declan O'Mahony for Homan.

LAST TEN SEMI-FINALS
DUBLIN
2006: Mayo 1-16 Dublin 2-12
2002: Armagh 1-14 Dublin 1-13
1995: Dublin 1-12 Cork 0-12
1994: Dublin 3-15 Leitrim 1-9
1993: Derry 0-15 Dublin 0-14
1992: Dublin 3-14 Clare 2-12
1989: Cork 2-10 Dublin 1-9
1985: Dublin 2-12 Mayo 1-7 (Replay)
1985: Dublin 1-13 Mayo 1-13
1984: Dublin 2-11 Tyrone 0-8
Won 5, Drew 1, Lost 4.

KERRY
2006: Kerry 0-16 Cork 0-10
2005: Kerry 1-19 Cork 0-9
2004: Kerry 1-17 Derry 1-11
2003: Tyrone 0-13 Kerry 0-6
2002: Kerry 3-19 Cork 2-7
2001: Meath 2-14 Kerry 0-5
2000: Kerry 2-15 Armagh 1-15 (Replay – after extra-time)
2000: Kerry 2-11 Armagh 2-11
1998: Kildare 0-13 Kerry 1-9
1997: Kerry 1-17 Cavan 1-10
Won 6, Drew 1, Lost 3.

ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIPS
Next Sunday: All-Ireland semi-final, Dublin v Kerry, Croke Park.
Sept 16: All-Ireland final, Croke Park.

The 'dream team'

Bank of Ireland has launched an exciting new nationwide competition. Inviting the public to choose their most extraordinary football 'dream team' of the last 15 years, the 'Extraordinary Fifteen' competition is set to create debate up and down the country as self acclaimed pundits compete for the prize of €15,000 and a VIP trip to the Bank of Ireland Football Championship All-Ireland Final on the 16th September 2007.

The competition will run in The Irish Independent and on local radio stations across Ireland. The Irish Independent GAA correspondents will create a dream team of players over the last 15 years. Readers and listeners will then be asked to create their very own dream team and if it matches the pundits' team they could win the fantastic prize.

Entry forms will appear from the 13th to the 27th August 2007 with information also being distributed to GAA clubs across the country. The closing date for the competition is the 31st August 2007.