1.
2002 All-Ireland quarter-finalAugust 5Dublin 2-8 Donegal 0-14If there were any doubts from a Donegal perspective into the qualifiers system, it was eradicated on August Bank Holiday Monday in 2002, where, according to The Irish Examiner's Jim O'Sullivan, they produced "a massive show of character in the closing minutes to earn a well-merited draw."With Dublin manager Tommy Lyons watching from Blackrock Clinic with a stomach problem, the game took 12 minutes to catch fire with the first score, before coming to light. At the break, Dublin were a point in front, 1-4 to 0-6, with Ray Cosgrove scoring the opening goal and Donegal were frustrated after referee Gerry Kinneavy had called play back when Christy Toye pointed, to award a free which Adrian Sweeney put wide.However, Sweeney would have the last laugh. Dublin, through another Cosgrove goal six minutes from time, would get two in front before the Donegal forward scored a couple of late points to level. He even gave Hill 16 a grin having done so. "We would have taken a draw and we were glad to get it," his brother Raymond said of the late comeback. "At the same time we were disappointed in our own performance because a lot of lads didn't play up to scratch. And we gave away two bad goals into the bargain. Those are things that we are going to have to rectify before the next game." .
2.
2002 All-Ireland quarter-final replayAugust 17Dublin 1-14 Donegal 0-7There were no grins when the sides replayed 12 days later, with stories circling that the bulk of the Donegal panel had opted for the night out in Dublin, instead of the trip home, after the drawn game. The Irish Independent's Martin Berehy described Donegal's replay showing as "a shockingly inept performance, Physically suspect and mentally brittle, the conviction tanks emptied rapidly, leaving them with a miserable return."That was perhaps a soundbite from the era, as Donegal, who always had potential, yet failed to build on a strong showing and produced a feeble follow-up. Ray Cosgrove continued his ruck vein in front of goal that summer as Dublin led 1-6 to 0-3 at half-time and the second half just went through the motions. Local residents protested outside of Croke Park, due to the increasing number of high-profile games at the venue, on a day when Donegal didn't turn up on the pitch themselves. "I'll not make any decisions on that," Mickey Moran said of what his future might bring. "It is not in my head. I haven't said I am going. But I'm not saying that there isn't questions to be sorted out"
3.
2003 All-Ireland quarter-finalAugust 4Donegal 0-14 Galway 1-11If ever there was a year that depicted the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde nature of Donegal football, then 2003 was it. Unable to find a successor to Mickey Moran, county chairman Brian McEniff ended up taking the position for the fifth time. Playing catch-up, Donegal lost their first Division 1 outings and were relegated before beating Roscommon, and then were beaten 0-10 to 0-6 by Fermanagh in Ulster, which McEniff described as the "worst ever."Maybe the qualifiers was the last thing Donegal needed and victories like the 1-17 to 1-11 win over Roscommon, 0-16 to 0-11 when Sligo came to Ballybofey and 2-19 to 0-15 success over a Declan Browne-inspired Tipperary were building blocks. This was followed by a decent 3-15 to 2-10 win over a Down side suffering Ulster final replay defeat hangover to Tyrone.But Donegal had made the last eight, by hook or by crook and Brendan Devenney limping through the pain barrier, and against a Galway team who had won Sam Maguire twice and lost two finals since 1998 were five points up at a stage in the first half. However, it was a game that Donegal should've won - having taken some wrong decisions late on - but could've lost as Kevin Walsh's leveller meant for another day out. "A lot of the mistakes we made on Monday would have been covered in training and in conversation and yet we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot," McEniff said after the draw. "But that Is part of Donegal football I'm afraid." .
4.
2003 All-Ireland quarter-final replayAugust 10Donegal 0-14 Galway 0-11"With their unique bag of thrifty play, unorthodox beauty and heart-stopping, heroic defence, Donegal stretched and finally defeated one of the finest Galway teams to have emerged in four decades," was how Keith Duggan, a native of Ballyshannon penning for the Irish Times, described a magical replay in Castlebar.Brian McEniff had used the fact the game was at a Connacht venue to rally things, and 27,000 turned up on the day, one of glorious sunshine, before taking half the night to get home. Donegal had played Galway in Sligo in a challenge earlier that summer "and hammered," John Haran recalled. Galway, predicted by almost all to win, trailed 0-9 to 0-6 at the break despite Donegal not scoring for 21 minutes from the start, and then 0-13 to 0-6 lead with 20 minutes remaining. Seán De Paor hit the upright, Micheál Meehan drew a save from Tony Blake and Padraig Joyce clipped the outside of the post. Shane Carr cleared Matthew Clancy’s shot off the line. Adrian Sweeney and Brendan Devenney, with four and five respectively, did the bulk of the scoring for Donegal, with Michael Hegarty and Chrity Toye chipping in two apiece to bring celebrations not witnessed since 1992 to the county. A game that had been to "hell or to Connacht" ended up being a dream for Donegal. The journey would eventually end in heartbreaking at the All-Ireland semi-final stage, as, in front of 76,321 at Croke Park, a brave Donegal lost 2-10 to 1-9 against Armagh to conclude a summer that is still talked about fondly to this day.