Donegal begin Division 1 in Galway - minus a host of big hitters

TG4 Players Player of the Year Niamh McLaughlin and other big names in the form of Geraldine McLaughlin, Karen Guthrie and Yvonne Bonner will not feature for Donegal in their opening fixture of the Lidl Ladies National Football League.

Maxi Curran’s side get their campaign off and running against Galway in Tuam on Saturday, throw-in 2pm, with the more experienced players sitting out of the early stages of the season.

“Our group is getting no younger so there are a lot of familiar faces that are not going to be around for the league,” said Curran. “They have all been given time to recover from knocks and bruises and time to recharge the batteries ahead of another tilt at the championship. We hope to have them all back in time for the championship.”

The Donegal manager believes the forthcoming Division 1 campaign is going to be very competitive. Last year Donegal made it as far as the Croke Park final - where they lost out 1-8 to 0-9 to Meath - which followed a dramatic late victory over Dublin at Breffni Park.

“The four All Ireland semi-finalists - Meath, Kerry, Mayo and Donegal - and then you have Galway, Cork and Dublin, all the top teams, are all in Division One this season. It is the strongest Division One in my time involved and probably for a good few years. It is going to be a very competitive league.”

But despite the exceptional quality of the opposition his side faces, the Donegal manager is optimistic. Last year players like Jodie McFadden from Termon and Glenfin’s Danielle McGinley were on the senior panel, with Susanne White coming in to score two goals on her championship debut against Cavan.

“We have a group of young girls who are fighting tooth and nail to wear the Donegal jersey,” Curran added. “They are now going to get the chance to stake a claim for a place. They are going to get on the team and it is time for them to put their hands up. It is something of a transitional period for us and we are going to have to try and bring these girls through as quickly as we can and try and retain our place at the top table.”

All-Ireland champions Meath, Waterford, Dublin and Mayo are the home games while Cork and Kerry along with Saturday’s opponents are the away fixtures facing Donegal over the next nine weekends. With many of the big names taking a break for the league it will be very much a new look and inexperienced Donegal that manager Maxi Curran will field on Saturday.