Nineties revisited as Derry v Cork gets second outing

The draw for the All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals could hardly have thrown up more intrigue, with hard-nosed rivalries set to be resumed.

Recent history would suggest that the one team All-Ireland champions Kerry would have wanted to avoid was Tyrone.

Their rivalry was the cornerstone of the football championship for the first decade of the millennium, and while the Kingdom claimed the big prize on five occasions compared to Tyrone's three, the fact they couldn’t turn Mickey Harte’s side over in that time was a stick they were often beaten with. The 2021 unexpected semi-final defeat to the Red Hands merely enhanced Tyrone’s reputation as a bogey team.

The next biggest rivalry to follow was Mayo v Dublin, with Sunday’s blockbuster a throwback to classic games where the men from the capital more often than not prevailed, regularly by the skin of their teeth.

Even the all-Ulster clash of Armagh and Monaghan brings to Dublin a more local rivalry, yet the odd one out is the meeting of Cork and Derry, a certain novelty factor given this is only the second time they have crossed paths in championship football.

The 1993 All-Ireland final, Derry’s first and only time to claim Sam Maguire, is not surprisingly held in high regard by those within the county. The Men Who Won Maguire can be viewed on YouTube while The Boys of '93: Derry's All-Ireland Kings is a compelling posthumous memoir of legendary manager Eamon Coleman, with special attention paid to the high watermark in Derry football.

The final isn't as fondly remembered on Leeside, but 30 years on, players from both sides take a trip down memory lane and predict what we can expect at GAA Headquarters later today.

Derry full-back Tony Scullion remembers the giddy excitement within the