1.
Donegal first announced itself to the outside world back in 1954. They took on Kerry in the All-Ireland Junior ‘Home’ final at Croke Park but in the end, would go down on a 3-6 to 1-6 scoreline in front of 13,000 spectators on the Jones’ Road. That day Donegal wore an all white, with green and gold striped socks. .
2.
In 1956, the Donegal Minor Football team achieved a historic milestone by winning their first Ulster Minor Football Championship title in green and gold, with white shorts and hooped socks. They defeated Armagh in the final with a score of 2-5 to 0-6 in Clones. However, their championship journey ended in the All-Ireland semi-final, where they were defeated by Leitrim.
3.
With 1972 came the first success at Ulster senior level, with the kit now yellow jerseys, green shorts and white socks. There had been a brief experiential phase in the late 1960s with white shorts. Brian McEniff was player-manager as Donegal defeated Tyrone in the Clones decider by 2-13 to 1-11.
4.
Tellingly, after that success, long before the era of shirt sponsors, the Ulster champions were decked out by Magee in Donegal Town. More about that later. On the field, they lost out in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final to Offaly, 1-17 to 2-10, with the Leinster side going on to lift Sam Maguire with a 1-19 to 0-13 win over Kerry.