1 Cavan win the Ulster Championship

Everyone loves a good underdog story and Cavan endeared themselves to the country with their completely unexpected run to Ulster final honours this year (Dublin star Brian Fenton recently said he was moved to tears by emotional post-match interviews by Mickey Graham and Raymond Galligan). They were relegated to Division Three with the championship just around the corner, but they produced more comebacks than Lazuras with fantastic victories over Monaghan and Down en route to the final (their victory over Antrim was rather less dramatic). They tore into Donegal from the opening whistle in the final and got their just rewards when Conor Madden scored a late goal which propelled the county to their first Ulster title in 23 years.

2 Cork stun Kerry in Munster

Two moments literally got me off my couch in this year’s All-Ireland Championship: Conor Madden’s game-winning goal against Donegal, and Mark Keane’s goal with the last kick of the game against Kerry. The Kingdom had been talked up as the team to down the Dubs, which in hindsight was probably wishful thinking, but they were putrid in their Munster Championship quarter-final clash against Cork. Nonethless, they looked like they were on course for victory in extra-time until Mark Keane grabbed hold off a speculative shot on target, holding off Tommy Walsh as he did so, and slammed the ball to the back of the net. It would’ve been a dramatic turn of events in any circumstances, but the fact it was a knock-out championship made Kerry’s demise all the more shocking.

3 Mickey Harte heads to Louth

It was a shock when Mickey Harte’s reign as Tyrone manager came to an end, even though he obviously had to go sometime. More surprising still was the news, less than a fortnight later, that he had been appointed as new manager of Louth. It’ll be some change for him – he’s used to driving a few mile up the road to Garvaghey – but next year he’ll be leading a Division Four outfit in a different province. Who knows whether it’ll turn out to be a success or not, but he obviously hasn’t lost his hunger anyway. He isn’t the only big name heading Division Four’s way – Tony McEntee was appointed manager of Sligo, while Terry Hyland remains manager of Leitrim.

4 Armagh enlist Kieran Donaghy

In a move that took us all by surprise, Kerry star Kieran Donaghy joined the Armagh backroom team for 2021. We all remember him roaring in Paul Hearty’s face after his famous goal in the 2006 All-Ireland Championship quarter-final, and he’s half-a-Tyrone-man, but he must feel like he has something to offer the Orchard county’s inter-county team. He comes across as passionate and informed in his Sky Sports punditry gig, and perhaps it’ll keep things fresh at Armagh as Kieran McGeeney is entering his seventh season in charge. Travel mightn’t be a major issue either as his job brings him regularly to the north and he’s already based in Dublin for part of his working week.

5 Dungannon come out on top

The Tyrone Club Championships always throw up a shock or two, but few people, if any, imagined that Dungannon would go all the way in this year’s senior championship. Their semi-final victory over Errigal Ciaran was remarkable – corner-back Ciaran Barker scoring the winner from a ’45’ with the last kick of the game – and their victory over reigning champions Trillick in the final was even more ludicrous, as they recovered from an appalling start to win after extra-time and penalties. Even as a neutral it was hard not to be caught up in the drama of it all as they won in the most dramatic circumstances imaginable.

6 Tipp win the Munster (Football) Championship

The stage had been set for Cork to claim provincial honours after seemingly doing the hard part by beating Kerry, but Tipperary had other ideas. On weekend when the 100-year commemorations for Bloody Sunday took place, Tipperary produced a sublime performance to claim their first Munster SFC title in 85 years. The final scoreline read 0-17 to 0-14 but they were much the better team and would’ve won by more only for a fairly controversial square ball decision early in the second-half. They went onto face Mayo in the All-Ireland semi-final but found their opponents’ pace and power far too much to handle even though it was still a fairly commendable performance.

7 Waterford’s second-half performance

Waterford looked like they were dead and gone when they trailed by 2-11 to 0-10 after a TJ Reid goal in the All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny. They’d been playing really poorly but everything changed in the second half as they cast of the shackles, blitzing Kilkenny for 1-11 in the third quarter alone. Their manager Liam Cahill explained that “It wasn’t anything dramatic, I can assure you of that. It was down to the players” after the game. Unfortunately from a Deise perspective, they couldn’t carry their second-half performance through to the final as they lost out to a seriously impressive Limerick side.

8 Derrygonnelly’s reign comes to an end

Fermanagh club Derrygonnelly claimed the five in-a-row last year, but their reign finally came to an end in this year’s championship decider against Ederney. They never really got going on the day, and perhaps on some level they were psychologically satisfied after last year’s title. It must be said that Ederney had been getting closer and closer and had all the motivation having lost the 2018 decider, while a number of their players were veterans of the team which lost the 2006 final to Enniskillen Gaels as well.

9 Antrim hurlers do the business

A pleasant surprise this one – it wasn’t much in the way of a shock when Antrim hurlers won out in the Joe McDonagh Cup final against Kerry as they’d beaten their opponents a number of times this year already, but it’s worth noting the massive strides made this year under their new manager, former Tipperary goalkeeper Darren Gleeson. They had to make do without Neil McManus for most of their Joe McDonagh campaign, making their triumph all the more impressive. Next year they will return to the Liam McCarthy Cup as well as Division One, and lets hope they can prove a certain Donal Og wrong by being competitive.

10 Dublin get a game!

It looked like the Dublin footballers were going to stroll to their sixth All-Ireland title in-a-row without breaking sweat, so it almost came as a surprise when Mayo gave them a decent enough game in the final. They were only a point up at the second-half waterbreak, but they were utterly dominant on the closing stretch as they claimed a five-point victory. Still, at least they got a game this season, am I right or am I right? Sigh…