THIS Sunday will arguably be the defining sporting moment of the year as the Kilkenny hurlers aim to do what Kerry failed to do in 1982 and win five consecutive All-Ireland titles ina-row. The run-up to this Sunday's Hurling final will bring back bittersweet memories for a lot of Kerry fans of that day when Seamus Darby denied the Kingdom what seemed to be their moment in history and the intriguing thing about Sunday's battle between the Cats and Tipperary is indeed whether history repeats itself or will Kilkenny heed the warnings of times past?

Certainly so far they appear to be totally avoiding the very mention of the 'drive-for-five' as it has come to be called treating it as an almost taboo subject. We're still to see a tshirt or hear a song proclaiming the very feat in stark contrast to what was experienced in this county in '82 when it was taken as a given even before a ball was kicked that arguably the greatest Kerry team of them all was certain of history.

We all know what happened to Kerry on that miserable and wet third Sunday of September 28 years ago, but there are some interesting comparisons between the run-up to that All-Ireland Football final and this year's hurling incarnation. For a start Kilkenny are playing the team they faced in last year's All-Ireland final in the form of Tipperary, the same Kerry had in 1981 and 1982 with Offaly.

Second both Kerry and Kilkenny's fourth successive All-Ireland final victories were the subject of enormous struggles, Kerry needing Jack O'Shea to dig them out of a hole in 1981 in the same way that Henry Shefflin's penalty and Martin Comerford's strike denied Tipperary an All-Ireland title that appeared to be there's for three quarters of last year's match.

Thirdly and most ominously, Kilkenny have injury concerns like Kerry did in 1982, while it was Jimmy Deenihan and Pat Spillane for Kerry back then it's Brian Hogan, Tommy Walsh and potentially most fatal of all Henry Shefflin for Kilkenny this year. Like Spillane with his knee 28 years ago, Shefflin will not be 100% coming into this game injuring as he did a fragile part of the body in the form of the cruciate ligament in the semi-final against Cork.

All this is our course just superstition and Kilkenny have shown time and time again that they are not affected by what is said or written about them by others, but what sort memories will Sunday bring back for the Kerry players involved on that fateful day in 1982?

Eoin 'The Bomber' Liston had never lost a championship match with the Kingdom prior to that fateful day, but he believes it's easy for people to say that the pressure got to them until you actually analyse the performance in detail.

"It was only when you watched the video of the match again and saw the mistakes that we wouldn't normally have made did you realise that we were more nervous that we ever had been prior to that.

" The hype will only come from the team's supporters, but in the camp the 'five-in-a-row' will probably not even be discussed by Kilkenny. However, there will also be the pressure on you individually that you're on the verge of history like we were back in '82," Liston said.

The seven time All-Ireland winner believes that Brian Cody will have his charges prepared for every eventuality this Sunday and admits that Kilkenny like Kerry in 1982 will have to cope with a mixed degree of emotions from the Irish public at large.

" There'll be as many people anxious to see them beaten as they will be people who want to see them do it (the five-in-arow). It's a natural feeling in some respects something we encountered ourselves in '82 as well as nearly every other year we were in an All-Ireland final," the 'Bomber' said.

If Kilkenny are to achieve history this Sunday will there be a slight tinge of jealously on the Bomber's part?

"Not a bit, they're an outstanding team and I certainly wouldn't begrudge them the honour of doing it. They would be totally deserving of the honour if they do achieve it."

However, Liston is sticking to the prediction he made in this newspaper back in January when he tipped Tipperary to win the All-Ireland Hurling title and seventy minutes on Sunday will decide both the Premier County as well as the Cats fate.

While it will be of only passing interest for most in the county this Sunday, those Kerry fans who were around in 1982 will be feeling a bit nostalgic as they take a trip down memory lane and watch another go where the Kingdom very nearly did in 1982.

Victory for Kilkenny will probably see the county join the long list of congratulators on the historic feat but defeat will see Kerry people having to put a consoling arm around their colleagues from the Marble county and tell them 'we know what you're going through'!