Having blown promising positions against Mayo, Galway and then Dublin, Donegal made some amends yesterday in Ballyshannon to blow Monaghan away with a degree of comfort.

A defensive error brought a tame game to life as Bohemians clinically punished their visitors to take a ninth minute lead.

A familiar theme of coming from behind and simply refusing to accept defeat played out again at Croke Park where Dublin suckered Donegal with a late onslaught to steal a narrow Allianz League win.

Conference A leaders Leinster continued their unbeaten season with a 36-12 bonus-point win over Cheetahs at a rain-lashed RDS.

Ulster champions Donegal flexed their muscle with a 10-point win in Navan, their first of the Allianz Football League Division 1 campaign.

Letterkenny IT’s first-ever outing in the Sigerson Cup proved to be a successful one as they easily brushed aside the challenge of Athlone IT at the home of the midlands college.

Leinster didn’t even need to send out their first team to do this damage — Cullen made 13 changes to the side that hammered Northampton Saints last week in the Champions Cup

The Tuesday night after Donegal scraped through the 2014 All-Ireland quarter-final, Jim McGuinness crammed his players into a makeshift portable building at Donegal’s yet-to-be-built Centre of Excellence in Convoy.

Louis Walsh has revealed that Brian McFadden would be welcome to rejoin Westlife.

Glen McAuley and Dave Webster were the St Patrick’s Athletic goalscorers once again as they came from behind to secure victory for the second week running.

Hugh McFadden believes the championing of the likes of Donegal and Sunday’s opponents Kerry as the main rivals to Dublin’s throne is merely something the media latch on to.

Donegal midfielder Hugh McFadden believes Dublin aren’t being given enough credit for their success.

Graham Cummins missed a host of chances to make himself the hero on his Shamrock Rovers debut as the former Cork City striker suffered the yips in front of goal.

Finn Harps ended a run of five straight defeats with a victory at Finn Park over north west- rivals Sligo Rovers to move above UCD at the foot of the table. Goals for Nathan Boyle in each half did the trick for the Donegal side.

Hugh McFadden believes the rivalry that has dictated the tone of Ulster football for the last decade is currently being dictated by Tyrone.

He will miss the Heineken Champions Cup final against Saracens as well as the rest of the Pro 14 campaign.

It was the deadest of dead rubbers, but the joy Ulster took from beating Leinster on Saturday suggested it meant something beyond a meaningless four PRO14 points to those at Kingspan Stadium.

Ulster beat Leinster 14-13 in the Guinness PRO14 derby clash at Kingspan Stadium.

Life is not easy for employers, with Brexit preparations, adverse currency movements, hikes in input costs, and an ever-increasing range of demands in the field of compliance.

CJ Stander is back in the Munster team for tomorrow's Pro 14 match against Zebre at Thomond Park.

Fergus McFadden says Joe Schmidt is still the best man to turn around Ireland’s recent poor form.

To appreciate the extraordinary journey and career Kieran Donaghy underwent before announcing his inter-county retirement yesterday on the 17th anniversary of 9/11, it’s worth rewinding to where he was when those planes crashed into those towers.

Fergus McFadden says he’s ready to assume the responsibility that’s involved with being a placekicker for Leinster.

Republic of Ireland 4 Northern Ireland 0

Teenager Sara McFadden has become the first visually impaired person to compete in Irish rallying.

Donegal 2-22 Down 1-12

Sligo Rovers 0 Cork City 2

Goals early and late saw champions Cork City move back to the top of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division table as they saw off Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds.

Although some of the fizz has been taken out of the provincial championships since the introduction of the qualifiers back in 2001, there’s a semblance of a climactic feel to Donegal’s preliminary round opener against Cavan in Ballybofey tomorrow.

Dundalk 2 Sligo Rovers 1

A man who left dozens of people trapped in an apartment block after he set fire to an underground car park has been jailed for five years.

Waterford FC 1 Sligo Rovers 1: Waterford FC were held to their first draw of the SSE Airtricity Premier Division after a 1-1 scoreline against Sligo Rovers last night, both sides finishing with 10 men in a game littered with free kicks.

Graham Cummins scored a hat-trick as Cork City to make it three wins from three in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division, seeing off Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds on Monday night.

Joe Schmidt has praised Chris Farrell’s all-round game and form in confirming the Munster centre is at the head of the queue to replace Robbie Henshaw in Ireland’s midfield to face Wales in Dublin on February 24.

The Scarlets are in Dublin tomorrow for a PRO14 meeting with Leinster. It’s not the real Scarlets, of course. 

A man who claimed he was a boxer and who assaulted a solicitor in a completely unprovoked one-punch attack, causing catastrophic brain injuries, has been jailed for six and a half years.

Fergus McFadden believes Leinster’s current strength-in-depth is such that it trumps even the 2009-2012 era, when the province dominated the European club scene and claimed three Heineken Cups in just four seasons.

Joe Schmidt must have loved the manner of Leinster’s win last week. 

Benetton 10 Leinster 36: Leinster had to wait eight months to see James Lowe touch down on Irish soil after the province announced him as their marquee signing for the season.

Leinster weathered the huge hits and the heavy bruising from Montpellier’s giants on Saturday – but the five points are what will leave the biggest mark after a winning start to their Champions Cup challenge.

All-Ireland winner Patrick McBrearty showed all his big game experience with a dramatic 73rd minute winning point at Pairc Tailteann to send Donegal through to Round 4A of the qualifiers.

Brian McFadden has hit back on twitter at fans who dubbed a recent Boyzlife gig as "unprofessional" and "disgraceful".

The greatest provincial rivalry of this decade has often been damned as excuses for cynicism, over-aggression and downright defensive football.

Galway Utd are through to the semi-final of the EA Sports Cup after a superb 120 minutes of football and victory in a penalty shoot-out at sun drenched Sligo Showgrounds.

Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden are bringing their Boyzlife show to Cork in May. They share some memories with Jessica Casey.