Eva Gallagher learning as she goes, on and off the field

Eva Gallagher has a busy schedule at present, but it hasn’t stopped her from learning in different aspects of her life.

The Kilcar woman is in her second year at Dublin City University, where she is studying Primary School teaching, while she also lines out for the North Dublin third-level side, who begin their O’Connor Cup defence this Thursday against Queen’s.

Added to that is the travelling up to Convoy on a Friday night for Donegal training, as they got up and running in Division 2 on Sunday.

“It’s tough at times to balance everything, but I enjoy it,” Gallagher said after Sunday’s win over Westmeath.

“I like being busy, and I’m playing football with the college team at the moment too.

“It’s nice having the two different teams because you’re playing with and learning from different girls. Our college team is made up of a lot of county girls, so you’re learning off them and what they’re bringing from their county.

“I come up home on a Friday evening and go straight to Convoy for training, but I enjoy football, so I’m never complaining too much.

“But it’s important to have the balance of it and not burn out or get an injury, and then balancing it with my education as well.”

They began what is now Gallagher’s fourth season with the senior team and their third campaign in the second tier with a win over the Lake County by 2-11 to 1-6 in O’Donnell Park.

Donegal were relegated to Division 2 in Gallagher’s first season in the panel, which was also Maxi Curran’s final season in charge.

Since then, they have been flirting with relegation from the All-Ireland Senior Championship in the last two years, winning in the relegation semi-final against Kildare under John McNulty in 2024.

They then beat Leitrim in the relegation final last year in James Daly’s first season in charge, a game in which Gallagher scored an eye-catching nine points in the six-point win.

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But Sunday’s win was a vital start to a league campaign in which they are looking to make their way back to the top table with promotion.

And combined with the new rules brought into ladies' football this year, many of which mirror the men’s game, along with other rules that allow for more physicality when defending and tackling, Gallagher feels they are going in the right direction.

“We wanted to go out in the first game of the league with a point to prove and set the tone for the year, and that’s getting us going for the next two games, which are back-to-back. 

“I think it’s important for us to get out of this division and get promoted to Division 1 because our team is young, and if we can get up, it would be such a boost for the team in years to come.

“I played in Division 1 in my first year, and it was really competitive, but it does keep you pushing on, and you have to constantly look at your own game and find ways to get stronger and better.

“With the new rules coming in, I think it is going to suit us a lot, and we like to play attacking football, so it suits us.

“It really speeds up the game. It was going a bit defensive at times, but the new rules are really bringing it into a more attacking game.

“Our last game against Leitrim (last year), we played very attacking and that really suited us, and we came out with the win.

“Keeping the three up is great, and the tap-and-go is such a big one, having those eight steps of freedom really gives you help to make a lot of ground.

“It puts a lot more emphasis on the one-on-one attacks and winning your own ball, but as forwards, we want that challenge of getting out in front and beating our player and being physically stronger.

“The rules are bringing a bit more aggression to the game, which allows us to do that, and when you get the ball, then there is so much space opened up.”

Gallagher only came on as a substitute on Sunday, but she hit three great points, each one more impressive than the last, as Donegal powered on to victory.

She wasn’t the only sub to make an impact, with Cáit Gillespie firing in their second goal and causing problems to allow Susanne White in for the first goal, while Aoife McDermott also pointed from off the bench, the trio combining for the last 1-4 of Donegal’s scores.

“The subs coming on all have a point to prove, and we all want to be in that starting 15, so we have to look at our own game and see how we can come on and make our own impact to change the game, and we all did that.

“We came in and got the scores, which made the difference.”

Donegal have four away games in their last six, and they travel to Monaghan this Sunday, an away game which they drew two years ago before winning in Lifford last year.

They are also away to relegated sides Mayo and Tyrone, so picking up points on the road will be valuable in their bid for promotion.

“We’re away next weekend, and we’re going in to get another win. That would leave us on two wins out of two, which would be a huge boost for us, especially going into that third game before we have a break.

“In fairness, we got lucky enough with our four away games because, other than Tipperary, they’re not far. 

“We’ll be looking to put our best foot forward in those home games, and there’s no disadvantage of travelling on the bus, we just have to go out there and do what we want to do at home.”