There have been few games in the history of the GAA that have been as notorious as the last time that Galway and Dublin met in the Championship.
The date was September 18th 1983 when the sides met in the All-Ireland Final in Croke Park.
Galway, managed by Mattie McDonagh, had beaten Leitrim and Mayo in Connacht and in the All-Ireland Semi-Final defeated Donegal by a point. 1-12 to 1-11.
Dublin on the other side of the draw were managed by Kevin Heffernan and in Leinster, they had wins over Meath (After a replay), Louth and Offaly before beating Cork in the All-Ireland Semi-Final, again after a replay.
GAA fans around the country looked forward to that final in as both counties had a proud footballing tradition, and it was also the first final since 1977 that didn't involve Kerry.
Conditions were terrible on the day of the match with the gale-force wind and driving rain making it impossible for the players to play constructive football, and the physical battle was more intense than usual. The game was full of dangerous sliding tackles and heated exchanges between players was frequent.
What happened over the following 70 minutes has caused great debate ever since.
Commentary from RTE's Micheal O'Hehir
The pressure was on the GAA authorities to act fast and deal with the controversy on the pitch, but it took weeks for the organisation to sort out all the disciplinary matters arising from the final. When the punishments were announced Dublin felt aggrieved believing they were handed far too much of the responsibility for the controversies. Ciaran Duff was banned for 12 months, Brian Mullins for 5 months, their manager Kevin Heffernan received a 3-month ban while Ray Hazley got a month. Two players from Galway, Tomás Tierney and Peter Lee were both suspended for 1 month each.
Both county boards were also fined.
The entire incident left a sour taste in the mouth of GAA fans, especially those of Galway and Dublin, of which a rivalry between the two was born. They haven't met in the Championship since.
Until today........
