Afterwards, he could only laugh. Damn near the biggest moment in living memory around Kildare and he missed it. Still, it gave Declan Kerrigan a good line for the punters.

"What did ya think of the goal, Declan?"

"Ah sure I slept through it all.'

The hit caught him blindside and even now he remembers little of the sequence which led to the contact and nothing about the actual clip, which ended his involvement in the Leinster final against Meath. Ferried to the dressingrooms beneath the stands, he was out cold for around 15 minutes and by then the tone and character of the game above him was swinging wildly, holding the nation enthralled and briefly hinting at more heartbreak for the Lilywhites.

"Before I was taken off, everything was going reasonably well, we were clicking and after halftime we were confident we could finish the job off. Of course things are rarely as simple, and I was almost glad I'd missed the end when I heard how things went."

But this year Kildare exhibited the verve to match the wizardry and they killed off decades of doubt with a sublime conclusive goal which marked a new awakening.

Painkillers and doctor's advice left him a little subdued throughout the epic, slow-burning homecoming throughout Kildare but the unashamed welling of emotion touched him then and continues to. He returned to training last week, encountered no problems and treated Tuesday night's late fitness test as the formality it was. Kerrigan was back in the Kildare forward line and order was restored.

"Naturally, I am absolutely delighted to be part of this occasion, as is everyone on the panel. Having endured numerous disappointments before, it really is impossible to describe how much this means to Kildare," he says.

But is this enough for them then, an historic appearance in the final four against resurgent Kerry? Is a day out in dreamsville all they want?

"Obviously, that's what everyone is asking us, whether our mental attitude is right or not. OK, we are playing a Kerry team who by general consensus have improved on last year when they won All-Ireland and they are going to be one tough proposition.

"Against that, pressure has lifted off us since we won the Leinster title and we all know that this competition has become so tight now that we might not get get as good a chance as this again. So we will approach this with the same belief as has carried us all summer."

Last September, shortly after Kerry had begun rejoicing over the second coming, Kildare manager Mick O'Dwyer drove to the Curragh to conduct his panel's first training session. Mindful that he had some freshmen to break in, O'Dwyer pushed them through a regime that was at times penitential. And those were the early, easy days. Look back and shudder.

"The effort was enormous and when you consider that Kildare weren't coming off a winning season, it shows the commitment here," says Kerrigan.

"There is no doubt about it, the winter stuff on heavy ground gets monotonous, it's really demanding. Leisure time is at a premium and it can be tough even for a player's family. But I suppose every county is at the same now."

But he has always put in the effort, sometimes driving himself to do a little extra on free days. Although still only 33, he seems to have been around the set-up for aeons, winning a Leinster minor medal at half-back in 1983, kicking points for Johnstownbridge in the halcyon championship double years of 1988 and '89 and winning senior honours after John Courteney gleaned his potential in 1987.

He has more or less been there since, save during Dermot Earley's last season in charge when he was "told to take a break".

Sunday will be different. An occasion that had so often shimmered in front of them before vanishing from their grasp, leaving them fumbling for wooden excuses, suddenly, shiningly, waits.

"It's been said before that Kildare didn't have the players. We have shown that to be untrue. We know our supporters would fill Croke Park on Sunday, given the chance. They've always been magnificent. It's just one of the reasons we are determined to keep this going."