IT Carlow booked their place in the final of the Sigerson Cup in dramatic fashion when Adam Steed’s 62ndminute goal defeated Letterkenny IT the fog in Inniskeen.

Donegal are to be without a host of players for their Allianz League Division 1 opener against Mayo on Saturday in Ballybofey.

Letterkenny IT are making the transition from Trench Cup to Sigerson Cup look seamless – their six-point win over IT Sligo at Ballinode has put the Donegal outfit into the last four of third level football's top tier.

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.

Andy Moran kicked two injury-time points to ensure his Mayo side sealed a place in the All-Ireland semi-finals as they withheld any notions of Donegal comeback.

Shortly after the final whistle, the two teams mingled, swapped jerseys, and smiled in the middle of the field. Level 15 times and never more than two points difference between them, it was all they could do.

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 were 9-point winners against Meath at the sun-kissed Ballybofey, although the scoreboard only tells half the story of a gripping contest.

Michael Murphy says the pain Donegal have endured in Ulster mean his fifth Ulster title in eight years is just as special as his first.

Donegal swept past Tyrone to book their place in the Ulster SFC final, scoring a first win over fierce north-west rivals Tyrone in four Championship clashes as they triumphed by four points at Kingspan Breffni Park.

Donegal wriggled free of Fermanagh’s blanket of stubborn defensive resistance to find the spaces at a claustrophobic Brewster Park and pick off sublime second half scores on their way to the Ulster SFC semi-finals.

Ailing attendances, the strong getting stronger and the weak getting weaker, the Ulster championship finds itself at a crossroads.

A UCC or a Kerry double, that is the question as Shane Conway and Seán O’Shea have been honoured as the best Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon and Sigerson Cup players.

Stephen Rochford’s pathway from Mayo to Donegal wasn’t exactly straightforward.

Footballer Michael Murphy showed, on his television appearance on ‘The Toughest Trade’, that he possesses the attitude of a full-time sportsman. On Saturday, his manager with Donegal praised that mindset.

Scoreboard Fermanagh mustered a stirring second-half comeback in Letterkenny to come from five points down and overcome Donegal in Division 2.

Tipperary knew the implications of defeat here. Injury-ravaged and with only one point from a possible six, not to mention upcoming trips to Armagh and Newbridge, relegation to Division 3 would have been near unavoidable.

As much as Clare have progressed and consolidated under the masterful watch of Colm Collins, they’ve developed a regrettable tendency to foil glorious chances to nail a big trophy head upon the wall.

Mickey Graham’s busy end to 2018 finished with a win in his first day at the office as Cavan manager, Conor Madden’s point deep into injury-time snatching a 0-13 to 1-9 McKenna Cup victory over Down.

Paddy McBrearty couldn’t wait to get close enough to scream into Eoghan ‘Bán’ Gallagher’s ear after Sunday’s Ulster final defeat of Fermanagh in Clones.

Donegal 2-18 Fermanagh 0-12

My expectation that Fermanagh would make things horrible for Donegal in yesterday’s Ulster final never materialised. Perhaps I hadn’t factored in how much of an occasion this was for the Fermanagh players.

With two shock results at Omagh’s Healy Park having shaped this year’s Ulster SFC, tomorrow afternoon at St Tiernach’s Park in Clones, Donegal face Down for a place in a novel showpiece.

Donegal 2-20 Cavan 1-15

The pendulum has swung decisively in Tyrone’s favour in the battle of Ulster’s giants following a runaway win at Clones.

Donegal 3-19 Antrim 1-9: With the wheels of change evident in Donegal, there was further evidence of its forward trajectory at Ballybofey yesterday.

Dessie Farrell sold a neat dummy as a Dublin footballer and has carried an element of that same chicanery with him into management.

Donegal's dazzling array of underage talent sparkled under the lights in the Athletic Grounds tonight, easing to the county's first EirGrid Ulster U21 football title since 2010 against 14-man Derry.

A NEW GAA internet results service is up and running thanks to three Cavan natives, Vincent Kelly and current county seniors Micheal Lyng and Michael Hannon.

EAMONN DOHERTY has been named as the full back replacement for injured team skipper Mark Crossan on the Donegal team for Sunday's Bank of Ireland, All-Ireland SFC qualifier with Meath at Croke Park.

Goals by Gerry McGowan and Dessie Sloyan during a blistering seven minute spell at the start of the second half powered Sligo to a deserved win over Clare at Markievicz Park.

Sligo will field 11 members of the team which last year beat Mayo for the first time since 1975 when the teams meet again on Sunday in the Connacht Football semi-final.