It was the last major crack in an otherwise faultless foundation. Meath came into the 1995 Leinster final to face Dublin with one of their most impressive runs of the decade. Then the walls came crumbling down.

Dublin finished like a hurricane, eventually coming through to win 1-18 to 1-8, the biggest margin of victory between the sides in 40 years. Later that summer, they took the All-Ireland as well.

Playing at midfield that day, Meath's experienced and seasoned PJ Gillic saw it all. "I just remember we were chasing the game from the start," he says. "Even though Tommy Dowd got an early goal that day, we were nowhere even close. Just completely out of it, and Dublin definitely deserved that 10-point margin.

"For a start, we were chasing for points for the throw-in but, you know, you try and forget as much as you can about a game like that."

He can't offer a simple explanation as to what went wrong. "There was no single reason as to why we played that bad. The team that day was well used to the pressure of the Leinster final, but I know in the run-up we had very comfortable wins over Longford and Wicklow, scoring three or four goals in each game. We had beaten Offaly relatively easily as well so I suppose in one way we had not been really tested." Dublin, meanwhile, had beaten Laois 1-13 to 0-9 in their semi-final at Navan, but it had been a tight game. That, perhaps, had made them the more eager to perform on the day.

And as for his own performance, Gillic simply rates it as "very poor". He had suffered a knee injury the year before and was also coming off a groin operation that January but, he says, "there were simply no excuses".

"The final 20 minute spell by Dublin was one way traffic. Paul Clarke scored a fantastic goal close to the end and as I said, it might well have been more. Certainly the biggest winning margin that I can remember."

He adds: "I remember the strangest feeling after that day was just the margin of the loss. It more or less marked the finish of the five or six older team members that had been there going back to the 1987 All-Ireland win. That day was the last appearance for a lot of them and when most of the younger lads got the call to come in."

Gillic himself didn't play another Leinster final. He made a brief comeback in 1997 but retired soon after. Still, he'll be in the stands come Sunday, reliving some of that atmosphere which he believes always makes a Meath and Dublin Leinster final so special. "As a player, you probably don't appreciate it at the time," he says. "But they were all great games, and all great memories."

ONE Leinster championship match between Dublin and Meath is pressure enough. Add a succession of drawn games and things truly begin to hot up. Talk about a penalty in the third replay, and only Keith Barr can tell the tale.

Back in the 1991 first-round meeting of the Leinster championship, Dublin and Meath were still tied after three attempts. Not far from the end of the deciding replay, Dublin had a three-point lead when Declan Sheehan was fouled in the penalty area. Barr came from centre back to take the responsibility.

"Obviously the penalty in that game is something everybody talks about," says Barr. "And I've talked over it a million times. But you know, I struck it well and it went wide. It either goes in or it doesn't. Football is not a complicated game and neither is penalty taking.

"We had a small lead at that stage, so if it had gone in then it would have put us something like six points up. But of course Meath came back and won by just the two points on the day. That was that."

Those series of games, however, have now reserved their place in history. Meath went on to win Leinster before eventually falling to Down in the All-Ireland final, but Barr has his own special memories of that long hot summer.

"I think those four games in 1991 captivated the whole nation. The last of them was even played on a Saturday, which was something special at the time as well. It certainly was great entertainment, and a fantastic occasion.

"But what I remember most about that game and that period was just the great players on either team. We had so many big games around that time, and there's something as well about Dublin and Meath that always brings out the best in each other. This game on Sunday won't be any different either, although hopefully Dublin won't have to worry about taking a penalty."

Barr was back in the Dublin team that enjoyed the four Leinster titles in succession between 1992 and 1995, which included three victories over Meath, before his retirement last year. In terms of pressure, though, each game had its share. "I think that every single Leinster match between Meath and Dublin is a big pressure game, whether it's a first round or a final. No matter what, it's a big occasion. You know, I don't think the younger players in either Dublin or Meath really know what it's going to be like on Sunday. In my view it's as big as the All-Ireland final."

"As well as that, Dublin and Meath have this mark of respect for each other. On the day you could be up by 10 points at half-time and it wouldn't matter a thing. The atmosphere is always fantastic and I probably enjoyed my Leinster finals more than the All-Irelands."