It's a Munster football final between Kerry and Clare. Fresh from their redemptive win over Cork, Kerry are overwhelming favourites. Clare supporters travel to the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick with little hope. Unbeknownst to either side, revolution is in the air.

The conclusion to that scenario eight years ago saw Clare claim their first Munster title win since 1917 (still only their second ever). The dice has been rolled a few times since, yet for some people certain similarities with this Sunday's encounter can't be avoided. History, after all, does have a tendency to repeat itself.

In the aftermath of the win over Cork, manager Paidi O Se may have let it slip that "it was good to win the title back", but the lesson of 1992 is too fresh to be forgotten.

The manager of the Kerry side that day was Mickey Ned O'Sullivan, and while he admits the memory is still very much alive with a lot of the current Kerry players, he believes it's a different team now from the one which went into the Clare match eight years ago. The comparisons are strictly limited.

"With this team, you still have the nucleus of the All-Ireland winning side of three years ago," he says. "Back then you had the nucleus of nothing. There was no more than three older guys and the average age of the rest was about 21. There was very little confidence in those players."

That lack of confidence was most telling when Kerry allowed Clare to build upon a half-time lead of just one point. In the end, Clare finished four points clear, 2-10 to 012. Kerry may have been Munster champions, and the first-round win over Cork should had given them a massive psychological edge, but there was no lack of ability in a Clare team managed by John Maughan.

"Clare had come into the game with an unbeaten run of about 16 games," says O'Sullivan. "And except for one loss in the later stages of the league, their last defeat was by us in the previous championship. Still, we were coming in off the back of a good win over Cork and Limerick and I felt we'd be adequate enough to get through."

Things changed, however, when two late goals from Colm Clancy and young substitute Martin Daly frayed Kerry nerves. Even with Jack O'Shea, in the twilight of his career, at full forward and the prodigious Maurice Fitzgerald on the wing, Kerry couldn't find a response.

"They got two goals inside the last 10 minutes and we never had time to recover," recalls O'Sullivan. "Once a team gains momentum like that, then it is hard to get back.

"We had Seamus Moynihan at midfield, playing in his first senior championship game for Kerry. We knew he was an unbelievable talent, but he was just 18 years of age and had only finished his Leaving Cert. He was a boy in a man's job and we probably expected too much."

Still, O'Sullivan doesn't deny the scale of the shock. Clare hadn't beaten Kerry in 75 years. At a personal level, he hadn't underestimated them. "Subconsciously, I think some of the players felt that we could be beaten. But, practically, they weren't able to grasp it. So many of the players were young and naive. I just couldn't quite make it sink in that Clare were a threat."

In fact, Clare had given them a fright the previous year before a couple of late goals saw Kerry through. And while the surprise of 1992 will be freshest of all in the minds of Moynihan and Fitzgerald, it was the last time Kerry would go into a meeting with Clare and not take them seriously.

"For Sunday, you're talking about a Kerry team that I believe had a very impressive league run," says O'Sullivan. "They are a mature team and with an infusion of new talent it's a far superior side to that of 1992.

"You can't help but be impressed by the forwards, who are so very cohesive when they get going and able to shoot from very far out. The midfield is also sound, although I suppose the backs could be a little tighter. But if there is a flaw, I would say this team does have a tendency to go to sleep. They have to be consistent for 70 minutes."

But is there any chance that we may witness a repeat of that shock?

"I haven't seen much of Clare this season, but I think their track record this year is far from their record back in 1992. Kerry are heavy favourites and that is justified. Of course the lesson of that year will be in the back of the mind of players like Moynihan, but you're looking at a Kerry team that is capable of going all the way."