Sunday was a memorable day for Donegal, as they claimed their first Ulster title in five years in Clones.
They required penalties to see off the charge of Armagh, but showed great resilience in coming from four points down on two separate occasions to force said shootout.
Donegal have been rejuvenated this year after a challenging few seasons - thanks in no small part to the return of Jim McGuinness as manager.
McGuinness led Donegal to All-Ireland glory in 2012 and, judging by his comments in front of a fervent crowd at the post-Ulster final homecoming, he has every intention of doing the same this year.
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Jim McGuinness sees Sam on the horizon for Donegal
Even with Jim McGuinness returning, few would have had Donegal down as potential All-Ireland winners in their 2024 predictions. Things have changed somewhat over the past few months.
McGuinness took Donegal to Division One with victory over Armagh in the Division Two final in March, and repeated the trick with victory against the same opposition in Sunday's Ulster final.
The road to the Ulster decider saw Donegal notch up impressive and eye-catching wins over highly-fancied Derry and 2021 All-Ireland champions Tyrone, leading many to jump on the McGuinness hype train.
A massive crowd greeted the Donegal squad in Drumcliff on Sunday night as they returned home from Clones with the Anglo-Celt Cup. The speech from Jim McGuinness to the Donegal support was captured and uploaded to YouTube by a fan in the front row.
After praising the resilience of his team in both wins over Armagh and in the semi-final win over Tyrone ("the trait of a good team"), McGuinness made clear the team's ambition for the remainder of 2024.
We need to get back, because these are three really big games for us and we need to put them front and centre...hopefully we can do ourselves justice in that group stage and push on from there.
I do believe it's in the group, I think. The point I was going to make was - after the next 24 or 48 hours - they'll be a different animal. They'll be here, while they were there [gesturing] today - purely because they are Ulster champions.
We have to find a way to harness that. That's the challenge I would put to the boys: now that we've taken those two massive steps of promotion and now the Ulster championship, now there's only one thing left, that's the reality.
There's only one thing left and we have to go after that with everything we have. That's what we intend doing.
One does not need to be told what the "one thing" is that is left for Donegal to achieve in 2024.
With Dublin and Kerry both champions in their own provinces, and League champions Derry smarting from their Ulster defeat at the hands of McGuinness' side, they will have a serious fight on their hands if they are to be celebrating an All-Ireland triumph in Drumcliff come July.
Given all the battles they have come out on the winning side of this year, however, it is becoming a harder prospect to rule out with every passing week.
Donegal now go on to face Clare, Cork, and Tyrone in the All-Ireland group phase. They will host Tyrone in a rematch of the Ulster semi-final on the opening weekend, with throw-in set for 6pm in Ballybofey on May 25.
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