Sixteen teams competed, with the winner representing Donegal in the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship.
The defending champion was Cill Chartha, which defeated Naomh Conaill by a scoreline of 0–7 to 0–4 in the 2017 final.
However, the club had to play the competition without two of its county stars, Patrick McBrearty and Ryan McHugh.
On 26 September 2018, it was announced that McHugh had accepted medical advice and would be sidelined for the remainder of the year due to concussion.
[4][3] Concussion had also caused McHugh to spend six weeks on the sideline following a 2018 National Football League game (against Kildare[3] or Tyrone[1][2] depending on which report you read) earlier that year.
[9] Odhrán Mac Niallais was named as the recipient of the annual Gradam Shéamuis Mhic Géidigh.