In 2001, the GAA fined Sligo for not wearing its registered county colours[clarify][additional citation(s) needed] and after a win over Kildare decided to make the all-black kit its first choice.

The 1922 championship is the closest it has come, defeating Roscommon, Mayo and Galway to win the Connacht title, and beating Tipperary in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final that followed.

In 1962, Sligo reached the Connacht SFC final against Roscommon, and led for much of the match only to be blighted by a sudden string of injuries, miss a 50 while two points ahead in the final minute, and then gift soon-to-be All-Ireland SFC finalists Roscommon a goal in what is regarded as "one of the great football tragedies in Connacht".

[6] In 1965, Sligo reached the Connacht SFC final against Galway and gained a seven-point lead, only for one of its players to be "mysteriously sent to the full-forward spot", causing "the entire team [to lose] momentum" and the match.

[7] Since the 2001 introduction to the All-Ireland SFC of a qualifier system for teams eliminated from its provincial championship, Sligo, despite historically having a poor record, has enjoyed some modest, though noteworthy, success.

The new format together with a prolonged period of competing in Division 1 of the National Football League helped bring about an upward turn in the county's fortunes.

[citation needed] A similar comeback against the eventual All-Ireland champions Armagh two weeks later led to a replay, but Sligo's run was halted when it had claims for a penalty in injury time of the second game turned down.

Tommy Jordan, who had led Crossmolina Deel Rovers to the 2001 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship, took over as manager.

[8] The following year the county was trashed by Mayo while trying to retain its Connacht title and ended up in the Tommy Murphy Cup, after a league campaign that had brought relegation to Division 4.

Because Sligo had been relegated, the GAA forced the reigning Connacht champions to participate in the Tommy Murphy Cup instead of the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers when it had exited the provincial championship; the county's exit to London in that competition after many players (including the county's most prominent, Eamonn O'Hara) declined to participate, was swiftly followed by Jordan's resignation.

[11][12][13] Sligo did not participate in the 2020 championship, granting Galway a direct route to the 2020 Connacht final due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games.

Sligo advanced to a quarter-final (Northern Section) game at Avantcard Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada against local rival Leitrim.