The climax to the second weekend of Super 8 football was needed to keep us interested. In truth, the other games disappointed in various ways.

It is difficult to keep up with everything happening in the championship with so many big games coming so close together.

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

Just five years ago, Donegal goalkeeper Shaun Patton was playing in a MacLarnon Cup final in goal for St Eunan’s Letterkenny.

Lawyers for a Donegal man jailed for indecently assaulting a babysitter almost 40 years ago have claimed the jury that convicted him were “pressurised” into returning a guilty verdict on a Friday evening when weather warnings were in place.

Why do we go along with the portrayal of Christmas as the equivalent of General Patton’s march to relieve the siege at Bastogne?, asks Terry Prone.

“A great test,” was how Jim Gavin described this Super 8 game. And that it was — two teams unbeaten in Championship with provincial silverware to their names locking horns. The equivalent of the pre-qualifier All-Ireland semi-final. An All-Ireland series game in its purest form.

Donegal 1-16 Kildare 3-7: Donegal’s poorest performance of Division 1 this term was still enough to post a first win, at Kildare’s expense.

A 14-year-old boy who suffered a shoulder injury at birth has settled his High Court action for €400,000.

Pope Francis' financial adviser is being charged in Australia with multiple counts of historical sexual assault, in a stunning move certain to rock the highest levels of the Holy See.

SSE Airtricity Premier Division

AT this stage, exposés of failure in our health service are as regular as Christmas pantomimes.

The heartbroken mother of a man killed by a serial offender with almost 500 convictions has revealed her shock at discovering he was under a driving ban until 2023 when he killed her son.

The heartbroken mother of a teenager killed by a man with almost 500 convictions says she will never be able to forgive him.

WE will know, early next week, if the fear and the disappointment that swept Donald Trump into the White House and that swept Britain — probably — out of the European Union were isolated game-changers or early warnings of a gathering storm.

Cork City 0 Derry City 0: Cork City dropped two valuable points in their bid to finish second in the Airtricity League Premier Division as Derry City earned a well-deserved point at Turners Cross last night to ease their relegation fears.

Dundalk 1 Derry City 0: John Mountney kept Dundalk’s 100% home record intact with a scrappy late winner to break Derry City’s resistence at Oriel Park last night.

ON the face of it, I’m all set for Christmas. But not really.

The Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams is again rejecting claims concerning his meetings with a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted and raped by a leading republican.

Paula Patton has filed for divorce from Robin Thicke and is asking for joint custody of their son.

DDSL 2 Waterford1

US President Barack Obama has asked for a review of the botched execution of an Oklahoma inmate which he said he found “deeply troubling”.

A botched execution that used a new drug combination left an Oklahoma inmate writhing on the gurney, leading prison officials to halt the proceedings before his eventual death from a heart attack.

Robin Thicke and Paula Patton's split came "out of the blue".

Colin Farrell and Paula Patton are in talks to star in a 'World of Warcraft' movie.

Ireland Schools 2 England Schools 2

More workers are to lose their jobs at one of Northern Ireland’s longest-established construction firms, administrators have confirmed.

Bohemians eased into the 3rd round of the FAI Ford Cup, easily disposing of Ulster Senior League side Drumkeen United at Dalymount Park.

A mine worker accused of faking the severity of a back injury lost his case for unfair dismissal after private investigators hired by his employer filmed him lifting heavy objects without difficulty.

St Eunan’s College, Letterkenny 3 De La Salle, Waterford 1

Finn Harps cruised to victory over nine-man SD Galway at Finn Park last night.

Danny North hit a double to score for the third match running as Sligo joined Shamrock Rovers at the top of the Premier Division on Saturday night.

Director Jason Reitman made a very smart decision when approaching his new film, 'Young Adult'.

Change is good.

Tyrone 1-15 South Down 0-11

SHAMROCK ROVERs eased their way to the Setanta Cup semi-finals by beating Irish League side Distillery in last night’s quarter-final, second leg at Tallaght Stadium.

A romantic film that adds nothing to the genre … it’s not bad, merely ordinary in that it gives the performers little to work with.

Longford 1-20 Donegal 1-12

PERHAPS a place in the final was more than Nenagh Ormond anticipated a few weeks ago, but Saturday’s last gasp defeat by Queens University in the AIB Division Three final at Anglesea Road was a bitter pill to swallow nonetheless.