There was a shock in GAA circles as Patrick McBrearty announced he was retiring from inter-county football.
McBrearty made his debut in 2011 and served as captain of Donegal for the previous two seasons.
A statement from the County Board said that the decision for the 32-year-old to call it a day had been taken in light of ‘the sustained recurrence of a knee injury which has hindered the Kilcar clubman in recent seasons.’
Caolan Ward also confirmed that he would be stepping away from the panel after ten years of service.
Burt were devastated when they were beaten by Easkey in the All-Ireland Club Junior semi-final in Fr Tierney Park.
There was better news for former Burt player Joe Boyle as he helped his adopted club of Toreen from Mayo to reach the All-Ireland Intermediate Final after they defeated Carrickmore by 1-28 to 1-17.
Sean MacCumhaills lifted the Ulster Minor Hurling Shield title when they got the better of Eire Og, Carrickmore in Ballinascreen.
The Donegal GAA Convention was a low-key affair with Sharon McGinty of Glenswilly seeing off the challenge from incumbent Darren Collins to claim the Fixtures Secretary spot.
Michelle McKenna (Buncrana) defeated Brendan Kelly in a vote to claim the Assistant Treasurer portfolio while Frankie Doherty (St Eunan’s) was elected to the Ulster Council along with Andy Doherty (Red Hughs).
In Grace Boyle’s Treasurer’s Report to Convention, it was confirmed that Donegal GAA crossed the €2 million mark for the first time regarding the running cost of their intercounty teams.
A sum of €1,861,737 was spent on county teams in 2024 and that increased to €2,094,330 in 2025.
In total, €1,424,426 was spent on preparing the footballers who went all the way to the All-Ireland Final.
Boyle reported a surplus of €216,025 for the year ending September 30 and hailed the fundraising effort which brought in €737,845 showing an increase of more than two hundred thousand euro on last year’s figure.
Boyle also announced that Donegal GAA had reached a settlement with Revenue following a voluntary disclosure review.
Ardara were crowned Under 21 ‘B’ champions after they defeated Glenfin in a cracking final at the Burn Road.
Kilcar saw off Red Hughs in the Under 21 ‘C’ Final while Gaeil Fhánada were celebrating after a fine victory over Realt na Mara in the ‘D’ decider.
Four Masters’ great run in the Ulster Minor Football tournament came to a halt when they were beaten by a strong Dungiven side in the quarter-final.
Abbey Vocational School advanced to the quarter-finals of the MacRory Cup when they finished strongly against Cathair Doire in Owenbeg.
However, Southwest Donegal bowed out when they were beaten by St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon.
There was disappointment for Abbey Vocational School in the Rafferty Cup Final as they lost out to Lecale Trinity, Downpatrick in a tense final.
Former Fermanagh manager, Kieran Donnelly was named as the new manager of St Eunan’s.
Three Donegal clubs were named as founding members of the new FAI National League which will kick off in Autumn of next year.
The FAI confirmed the 15 clubs that will form the new league, which will include Bonagee United, Letterkenny Rovers and Cockhill Celtic.
Finn Harps welcomed Donegal County Council’s decision to grant planning permission for the completion of the new football stadium at Railway Road, Stranorlar.
The permission provides for the completion of a modern, enclosed-bowl stadium with a capacity of approximately 5,580 spectators, incorporating four stands, floodlighting, pitch works, player and community facilities, and associated site infrastructure.
On the playing front, there was a blow as their top striker Hans Mpongo left for First Division rivals Cork City.
Harps also launched their new senior women’s team with Dessie McGlinchey confirmed as manager.
Ramelton man Ronan Boyce was a high-profile mover in the League of Ireland as he left Derry City and linked up with St Patrick’s Athletic.
The Donegal Junior League advanced to the semi-finals of the Oscar Traynor Inter-League Cup.
Action from the Inishowen v Donegal match at Maginn Park.
An Eddie O’Reilly goal gave Donegal a 1-0 win in the second leg at Maginn Park and that was good enough for a 4-2 aggregate triumph.
The Donegal Youth League also got the better of their Inishowen rivals.
Eamonn McConigley’s charges lost 3-2 at Maginn Park but won 5-4 on aggregate to reach the next round.
Letterkenny Rovers were top of the Brian McCormick Sports & Leisure Premier Division at Christmas after Ryan Lonergan scored a late winner against Kilmacrennan Celtic. Bonagee are two points behind but do have a game in hand.
Kerrykeel ’71 and Cappry Rovers lead the way in the Temple Domestic Appliances Division One as both have 19 points to their name.
The Donegal Physiotherapy & Performance Centre Division Two remains highly competitive with Drumoghill and Raphoe Town on 20 points with Deele Harps one behind.
ATU Donegal’s women’s soccer team won the third level Division 1 league title beating SETU Waterford 3-2 in Athlone.
In athletics, Amy Greene and Caolan McFadden represented Ireland at the European Cross Country Championships in Portugal.
Finn Valley AC’s Greene finished 20th overall in the women’s U23 race helping the Ireland team to finish seventh.
Cranford’s Caolan McFadden ran in the U20 race and the Irish team finished fifth..
David McKelvey of Rosses AC was the winner of the Santa Run in Glenties.
It was confirmed that Rhys Irwin will step up to the top level in the British Superbike Series in 2026.
The Kilmacrennan man this year has joined the MasterMac Hawk Racing team and will be riding a Honda Superbike in the coming months.
Clonmany rally driver Kyle McBride was a popular winner of the Billy Coleman award.
There was delight for Fermanagh’s Jon Armstrong and his Donegal co-driver Shane Byrne when it was announced that they will drive on all 14 rounds of the World Rally Championship in 2026 for M-SPORT in a Ford Rally Puma 1.
In boxing, Alesha Mullis-Boyle of Dunloe lost out to Ukraine’s Kateryna Moroz in their quarter final bout at the European U17 Championships in Germany.
David Tennyson won another Ulster title in the Boy 6 63kg category when he triumphed against Josh Doran (St Bronagh’s)
Letterkenny Rugby club’s men’s team had two excellent derby wins over City of Derry in Championship 2.
