Here's where Sunday's big win over Meath ranks in the Donegal history books

Donegal had 20 points to spare on Meath after racking up an impressive 3-26 in Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC semi-final - and it got the historians scrambling.

It was the biggest winning margin in a semi-final since Cork defeated Mayo by 5-15 to 0-10 in 1993.

Back in 1979, Kerry thrashed Monaghan 5-14 to 0-7, a 22-point victory.

From a Donegal point of view, Sunday’s win ranks as the county’s joint highest score registered in a SFC outing while the margin of victory is their second biggest of all time. 

Indeed, six of Donegal’s top tallies of all time in the Championship have been posted this year with another two arriving last year.

The 3-26 registered in Sunday’s demolition of Meath is matched only by the 3-26 thumped in against Cavan in June when Conor O’Donnell, Finnbarr Roarty and Caolan McColgan all found the net.

In the Ulster final this year, albeit after a pulsating contest that went to extra time, notched 2-23 against Armagh - a tally that was matched by the 1-26 Donegal scored against Monaghan in this All-Ireland quarter-final and the 2-24 from a group stage win over Clare in 2024.

The 2024 Championship opened with something of an ambush of Derry. On a sunny Saturday at Celtic Park, Daire Ó Baoill, twice, Oisin Gallen and Jamie Brennan hit goals in a 4-11 to 0-17 win.

“Those transitional moments are hard-got now in the game,” McGuinness said that evening by the Foyle. “I was delighted even in the second half when we got turnovers close to our own goal, the passion and the drive was there to get up the field and support each other. Those bits and pieces were very pleasing."

Donegal’s largest winning margin in the SFC was the 24-point win over Clare (2-23 to 0-5) at MacHale Park in Castlebar last summer.

Sunday’s triumph over Meath is next on the list, following by the 19-point beating of Cavan on a 3-26 to 1-13 scoreline in June.

It was notable that Donegal manager McGuinness touched on his side’s defensive strength in his post-match press conference. 

“Meath carry a two-point threat all the time and there was a hot spot on the edge of the arc that they were hitting a lot,” he said. 

“We had to make an adjustment there and their switches of play are something that they are very good at. They try to get players in an overload and the wind was bringing the ball into that area.

"We had to make a wee adjustment and once we did that we were able to control the game a wee bit more defensively. ‘Control the game defensively’ isn’t a term used very often nowadays but certainly the boys did a good job.

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“Meath have a lot of big men. You have to take that on. We have a lot of big men ourselves. Kick-outs have become absolutely massive and trying to retain your own kick-outs. Meath got a good squeeze on us in the first half. We were able to do really well on their kick-out, even towards the end of the first half.  It’s a huge part of the game and when you get hands on the ball you can start to implement your own game from a possession point of view.” 

DONEGAL’S HIGHEST SFC SCORES
July 2025 - All-Ireland SFC semi-final - 3-26 (35) v Meath 
June 2025 - All-Ireland SFC group - 3-26 (35) v Cavan
June 2021 - Ulster SFC preliminary round - 2-25 (31) v Down
July 1966 - Ulster SFC semi-final - 4-17 (29) v Fermanagh 
May 2025 - Ulster SFC final - 2-23 (29) v Armagh (after extra time)
June 2024 - All-Ireland SFC group - 2-23 (29) v Clare
June 2025 - All-Ireland SFC quarter-final - 1-26 (29) v Monaghan
June 2018 - Ulster SFC semi-final - 2-22 (28) v Down
June 2025 - All-Ireland SFC preliminary QF - 2-22 (28) v Louth
May 2017 - Ulster SFC quarter-final - 3-19 (28) v Antrim 
April 2025 - Ulster SFC preliminary - 1-25 (28) v Derry
May 2018 - Ulster SFC preliminary - 2-20 (26) v Cavan
June 2024 - All-Ireland SFC quarter-final - 1-23 (26) v Louth 

DONEGAL’S BIGGEST WINNING MARGINS IN SFC
2024 - Donegal 2-23 Clare 0-5 - 24 points 
2025 - Donegal 3-26 Meath 0-15 - 20 points
2025 - Donegal 3-26 Cavan 1-13 - 19 points 
1966 - Donegal 4-17 Fermanagh 1-8 - 18 points 
1992 - Donegal 2-17 Fermanagh 0-7 - 16 points 
2017 - Donegal 3-19 Antrim 1-9 - 16 points 
2021 - Donegal 2-25 Down 1-12 - 16 points 
2025 - Donegal 2-22 Louth 0-12 - 16 points