Olympic glory for Aidan Walsh, but sadness at the passing of Anto Finnegan
July
Antrim's hurlers suffered relegation back to the Joe McDonagh Cup as a second half fightback after below par first half was not enough against Laois who advanced in the All-Ireland Qualifiers with a 2-27 to 2-21 win at Parnell Park.
A spirited showing by the footballers at Armagh's Athletic Grounds ultimately came to nothing in the Ulster Senior Football Championship as the Orchard County's ability to find the net saw them sweep to a 4-15 to 0-14 win.
It didn't get any better at the U20 grade as both sides would suffer heavy defeats to Laois (hurling) and Fermanagh (football), but the minor hurlers did taste success, beating Down at Corrigan Park to claim the Leinster B title.
The Down hoodoo continued for Antrim's camógs as the Mourneview girls pipped them to the Ulster title, but they did enjoy a fine start to their All-Ireland Intermediate campaign, while the ladies footballers bounced back from a surprise defeat to Derry to keep their All-Ireland Junior campaign on track.
Cushendall would claim the Antrim Division One hurling title with victory over Rossa, but Lámh Dhearg were celebrating the Division Four title.
Lámh Dhearg's hurlers claimed the Division Four title
In soccer, Italy were crowned European champions, beating England after a penalty shootout at Wembley, while locally, Gerard Lawlor stepped down as Cliftonville chairman.
The delayed Olympic Games began in Tokyo with Aidan Walsh and Kurt walker advancing to the brink of a medal, but there was disappointment for team captain Brendan Irvine and Michaela Walsh who lost out.
There was also disappointment for Tommy McCarthy who was narrowly beaten on points by Chris Billam-Smith in their European, Commonwealth and British title cruiserweight showdown at Matchroom's Fight Camp.
August
Michael Conlan defeated TJ Doheny on a memorable Féile Fight Night at Falls Park
It was celebrating time for Aidan Walsh who defeated Merven Clair in Tokyo to claim Olympic bronze, but the Monkstown ABC fighter was forced to withdraw from his semi-final against Pat McCormack due to an ankle injury sustained after his quarter-final win.
Kellie Harrington was Ireland's latest golden girl when winning the lightweight title, but Kurt Walker came agonisingly close to a medal, only to lose out by the thinnest of margins to Duke Ragan in the featherweight last eight.
In professional boxing, the Falls Park was rocking as Michael Conlan defeated former world champion TJ Doheny to land the interim WBA featherweight title, with success on the undercard for local fighters including Tyrone McKenna, Sean McComb, Padraig McCrory and James McGivern.
At the end of the month, Anthony Cacace put in an impressive display to retain the British super-featherweight title when stoping Lyon Woodstock in Birmingham.
The Antrim Club Championships began in earnest with the group stages, while All-Ireland Hurling champions limerick kept hold of the Liam MacCarthy Cup when demolishing Cork in the final.
Antrim's ladies booked their place in the All-Ireland Junior final as they came through in extra-time against Carlow, while the camógs also had an All-Ireland final to look forward to thanks to their Intermediate semi-final win over Galway at Clones.
The month saw Gaels mourn the loss of Sean McGuinness, a legendary figure who enjoyed success at the helm of Antrim and Down.
In soccer, the Irish Cup began in earnest with Crumlin Star suffering a shock opening round defeat to Dollingstown on penalties, but St Oliver Plunkett opened with a win.
The leagues also began with St James' Swifts getting the better of Belfast Celtic in a nine-goal derby thriller, while in the Irish Premiership, Cliftonville opened with a pair of wins against Carrick Rangers and Coleraine, but Crusaders tasted defeat in their opener against champions Linfield before bouncing back with a 4-0 home victory against Portadown.
September
Antrim's camógs claimed the All-Ireland Intermediate title 
The GAA community was again plunged into mourning as Anto Finnegan lost his brave battle with Motor Neurone Disease.
There were mixed fortunes at Croke Park for Antrim teams as the ladies footballers lost out to Wicklow in their All-Ireland Junior final, but just seven days later, the camógs produced a superb performance inspired by the brilliant Maeve Kelly to defeat Kilkenny and claim the All-Ireland Intermediate crown.
While the groups stages in the Antrim Senior Football Championship rumbled on, it was down to the knockout stages in the Senior Hurling Championship with St John's defeating Loughgiel in a thrilling quarter-final under the lights at Portglenone, while Naomh Éanna performed admirably, but ultimately fell short against Cushendall.
The semi-finals saw a late Dara Rocks goal send Rossa into their first final at the expense of Cushendall in another thriller, while champions Dunloy came through in poor conditions in the second game at Dunsilly to deny St John's.
In soccer, St James' Swifts needed penalties to get past St Oliver Plunkett in the Irish Cup, while Joe Gormley marked his 350th appearance for Cliftonville with two goals in a 3-1 win at Dungannon Swifts to maintain the Reds' impressive start to the season that also included a 1-1 draw in the North Belfast derby.
The World Cup qualifiers resumed with two late Cristiano Ronaldo goals breaking Irish hearts in Faro as Portugal claimed a 2-1 win. Stephen Kenny's side would then require late foals at home to Azerbaijan and Serbia to rescue 1-1 draws, but these points were not enough to ensure they would be out of the running for a place in Qatar.
Northern Ireland enjoyed a 4-1 win away at Lithuania, but a 0-0 draw at home to Switzerland all but sealed their fate.
It was the start of a new rugby season with the rebranded United Rugby Championship seeing Ulster one with a win at home to Glasgow, boxing returned to the Europa Hotel with Colm Murphy making an impressive debut.
October
Dunloy completed a three-in-a-row of Antrim SHC titles with victory over Rossa 
Dunloy made it three Antrim Senior Hurling Championship titles in-a-row as they swept past Rossa in front of a number crowd at Corrigan Park, while in football, St John's stunned Cargin in Toome to secure their place in the quarter-finals by edging out Rossa in their group.
In the quarter-finals, the Johnnies lost out to Creggan, while Cargin thrashed St Gall's. Aghagallon got the better of St Brigid's while Portglenone came through in a goal-fest against Lámh Dhearg to ensure no city sides would remain in the competition or indeed, at any grade with the South West clubs dominating over the weekend.
The semi-finals saw Creggan stun Cargin, while there was subsequent controversy after Aghagallon came through after two periods of extra-time against Portglenone with it discovered the game ought to have gone to penalties after the sides were still level after the first period, but the result stood.
St Paul's ladies suffered defeat in their Antrim Senior Championship final with Moneygalss denying their bid for 10-in-a-row, while St Brigid's and Glenavy took the Intermediate and Junior honours.
There was joy for St John’s as their camógs claimed the Antra Junior title at the expense of Loughgiel, while the minor football title went to Aghagallon who overcame St Paul's.
In the Steel & Sons Cup, there were derbies in West and North Belfast with Belfast Celtic defeating Immaculata and Newington getting the better of Crumlin Star, with the quarter-final between the winners of these games going the way of Newington.
In the Irish Premiership, Cliftonville fell to their first defeat of the season when going down at Ballymena United, but recovered well to remain on top of the pile.
The Republic of Ireland seemed to click into gear with an impressive 3-0 win away in Azerbaijan and then romped to a 4-0 victory over Qatar in a friendly, but Northern Ireland's slim hopes of a place at the World Cup ended with consecutive defeats away to Switzerland and Bulgaria.
On Irish Elite finals night in Dublin, Star ABC's John Paul Hale and Immaculata's Caitlin Fryers were both celebrating being crowned national champions, while on the same night at The Devenish, Owen O'Neill moved to 7-0 with a polished performance against Naeem Ali.
The Irish Basketball Super League returned, but it couldn't have got off to a worse start for defending champions Belfast Star as they lost Conor Quinn to a knee injury before tip-off in their opening game.
November
Lewis Crocker impressed in victory at the Ulster Hall
Boxing returned to the Ulster Hall as Conlan Boxing officially launched as a new player on the scene and it was a good night for the locals as Padraig McCrory and Lewis Crocker scored impressive stoppage wins, while James McGivern and Sean McComb triumphed on points.
Tokyo Olympian Kurt Walker penned a deal to turn with professional with the new outfit, ending months of speculation, while his old Commonwealth Games' team-mate Kristina O'Hara-McCafferty made a winning start to life as a pro with a points victory in Sheffield.
Kickham's, Creggan were celebrating the end of a 67-year wait as they clinched the Antrim Senior Football Championship with victory over Aghagallon in the final at Corrigan Park, but there was disappointment for Rossa's camógs who fell short in their Intermediate final against Loughgiel.
The month closed out with a hugely successful Devenish Antrim GAA Club Allstars night at the Finaghy venue.
In soccer, Newington booked their place in the final of the Steel & Sons Cup with a 5-3 win after extra-time against Bangor and the Swans made it a perfect month with victory in the Irish Cup to see them in the hat for the Fifth Round, while also advancing in the Intermediate Cup.
Colin Valley's great run in the Irish Cup came to an end, however, as they lost out to Bangor 2-0.
Cliftonville closed out the month still on top of the Irish Premiership as they navigated a tricky run of away fixtures, but defeat to Linfield did see their lead at the top slashed to just two points.
There was also sadness as Celtic legend and Lisbon Lion, Bertie Auld passed away.
There were huge wins on the rugby field for both Ireland and Ulster as they defied the odds to defeat New Zealand and Leinster respectively, while it was the end of an era as Paralympic legend Michael McKillop announced his retirement from competitive action.
December
Newington claimed the Steel & Sons Cup on Christmas Day 
Newington delivered the perfect present on Christmas morning as Aodhán Gillen’s late goal was enough to defeat Linfield Swifts at Seaview.
Cliftonville finished off the year in second place in the Premiership table, albeit with a game in hand, as the North Belfast derby was postponed due to the continued rise in Covid cases that would play havoc across the board. Indeed, Ulster Rugby’s two festive home fixtures against Connacht and Leinster would fall victim, although Dan McFarland’s side did have a good month in Europe with a win at Clermont followed but a home victory against Northampton.
In Gaelic Games, the final trophy in the Antrim season went the way of Glenravel who edged out St Gall’s in the U20 Football Championship decider, while Lisburn were winners of the B trophy.
St John’s would be celebrating provincial glory as they edged out Magherafelt in the Bridie McMenamin Shield final.
In the Ulster Club Championship, Creggan suffered extra-time heartbreak as they fell to Armagh’s Clann Éireann at Corrigan Park, while there was also disappointment for Dunloy’s hurlers who once again found Derry’s Slaughtneil a bridge too far.
In boxing, Caoimhin Agyarko made it 10 wins from 10 as a professional as he stopped Noe Larios Jnr in Liverpool on the same card as Katie Taylor’s points win against Firuza Sharipova.
On the same day in Kazakhstan, Steven Ward’s hopes of springing a surprise against Kamshybek Kunkabayev ended in the seventh round when an accidental cut forced a technical decision with the Kazakh well ahead on the cards.
The Ulster Elite Championships also took place at Girdwood Community hub with a number of winners from the city including Gerard French, Jack McGivern, John Boyd, Carly McNaul and Nicole Meli, but the night was subsequently put into perspective when it emerged that Newington heavyweight Stephen McMullan was admitted to ICU after feeling unwell the day after his final bout.
In waterpolo, Cathal Brugha were celebrating as they claimed the men’s Irish title on a penalty shootout, while the club’s women reached the last four.
