Job well done - Shane O’Donnell’s delight as Donegal take Division 1 crown

Shane O’Donnell said it was a case of a job well done as Donegal won the National Football League Division 1 title on Sunday.

The St Eunan’s forward, who is Donegal’s joint-captain with Michael Langan from St Michael’s, lifted the Corn Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh following the 3-20 to 2-10 win over Kerry.

Langan put in a man of the match performance, with goals coming from Conor O’Donnell, Michael Murphy and Caolan McGonagle.

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“I'm delighted today, absolutely,” O’Donnell said afterwards. “It was a big game for us, everybody's done their jobs. A few boys with big man-marking jobs there and I thought they were doing very, very well. You can probably see that with the scoreboard there.”

Kerry defeated Donegal 1-26 to 0-19 in last year’s All-Ireland final and that victory was built on a lightning start by the Kingdom, when they raced into an early 0-13 to 0-4 lead. Donegal were determined for history not to repeat itself in the Division 1 decider and despite the concession of a goal by Keith Evans on 13 minutes, put in a fantastic performance, leading 0-13 to 1-2 at the break.

“The start was massive,” O’Donnell added. “I suppose, looking at last year, we started very poorly and we were chasing them the whole game after that. Today was different. We really kicked on. Then at the start of the second half, we got important goals. I suppose the first training when we came back after last year, there was a big emphasis on just leaving that behind us and doing our best to forget it, even though it's hard.

“Everybody's been training well and pushing each other very, very hard for places there. There's a few boys there injured, ready to come back and hopefully in the next couple of weeks, which will be nice.”

Donegal welcome Down to O’Donnell Park in Letterkenny on Sunday, April 26, in the Ulster SFC quarter-final. It’s the first championship match at the venue in 75 years. Since Jim McGuinness returned as manager ahead of the 2024 season, Donegal have won the province twice and are now looking for a first-ever three-in-a-row.

The National League success is Donegal’s first in the top-flight since 2007, and only their second ever, although O’Donnell - a schoolteacher at Deele College in Raphoe - said the unearthing of new talent was the most important aspect of the competition.

“In terms of youth and bringing in, we had Max Campbell coming in today unexpectedly,” O’Donnell added. “A lot of boys got a lot of chances there throughout the league, which is good. It's good, it's great to have them because they're pushing hard in training as well.

And, you know, a different element even in the change room because we have a lot of boys who are gone from last year. And just to have that change in the youth, it's exciting. And it's great to see them showcase their skills and even step up to the mark here, because it is a big step up. And they've all taken their chances very, very well.”