Posted online: Aug 26th, 2010

By Darragh Dunican
Sports Editor

SINCE 2003, THE majority of the Irish nation has had to watch bitterly in recent years, Tyrone and Kerry take centre-stage in the month of September as the race for Sam Maguire drew to its conclusion.
While Cork briefly threatened to end the pair’s dominance, in truth, no other teams have come close to stealing the limelight away from the Kingdom or the Red Hands.
However, following a dramatic August Bank Holiday weekend in which both Kerry and Tyrone crashed out of the championship to Down and Dublin respectively, the most open race for Sam Maguire in recent memory is now underway.
Dublin, Cork, Down and Kildare all sent the provincial champions home with their tails between their legs to freshen up, what was fast becoming, a boring and predictable championship.
Media outlets went into overdrive as they finally had something different to publish. The four counties still left all suddenly got a real sense that they could land the Sam Maguire trophy. The four new faces also re-ignited the general public’s love of the game.
And so, as the semi-finals approach and four is reduced to two, we take a look at the remaining contenders to lift Sam come 19th September.