Winds of change have blown but Katy Herron ready to embrace a new era with Donegal

When Katy Herron stepped out into O’Moore Park in Portlaoise two weeks ago for Donegal’s first match of 2024, it was like stepping into a brave new world. 

With the departure of key players such as Karen Guthrie, Yvonne Bonner, Emer Gallagher, Nicole McLaughlin, Geraldine McLaughlin, Roisin McCafferty, Tanya Kennedy, Shelly Twohig and Niamh Hegarty, Herron is quickly having to adapt to a new era in Donegal football. 

However, more than a decade on from first appearing for the county senior squad, the 34-year-old is still being tasked to perform at the summit of Donegal football. After all these years, her passion and drive for the cause is still almost unrivalled.  

With a team in transition under a new manager, the Glenfin star is looking for her side to bounce back following their four-point defeat to Kildare last Sunday. 

“We were pretty comfortable in the first half going against the wind and going in at half-time, we were really happy with our performance, but we just lost all composure in the second half, it didn’t go to plan for us and ultimately, we just weren’t able to get the scores together,” Herron told Donegal Live.  

“I think a lot of our attacks just fell apart in the last pass, and those mistakes gave Kildare a bit of a platform to build on. Credit to Kildare, they took the scores when they needed them, and that cost us badly.” 

For now, all roads lead to this weekend when John McNulty’s side welcome Westmeath in the third round of the Division 2 campaign. 

A clash that even this young Donegal side know is vital in their promotion hopes back to Division 1. 

“We’re a new team, there’s a lot to work on. We understand that it’s only the second game of the year and we hope it’ll work out for itself as we progress. We can learn a lot from our defeat last week and take lessons from it. 

Our aim is to get out of Division 2, that hasn’t changed. Nobody is looking beyond the league. Defeat last weekend was disappointing considering we were very good for so long in the match. But now it’s a difficult situation because if you lose one more match, you’re then relying on other teams to drop points, which isn’t ideal. 

A former AFLW player with Western Bulldogs, and a key component what was, without a doubt, Donegal ladies' greatest team over the last decade, it’s fair to say there’s not much Herron hasn’t done. 

But that hunger to come back for more with Donegal still burns bright, despite many of her veteran teammates finally deciding to exit the panel in recent times, leaving Herron as one of the most senior players to lead the way for the next generation. 

“Nothing goes on forever, there was a group of core players there for so long who came back year after year, always trying to give it another go.  

“I suppose it’s never easy to walk away. We probably didn’t feel the need to bleed in new players in those years because we had such a bulk of talent, but now that so many of us are gone, it’s made it that bit harder. 

“We knew it was always going to be hard when those players left. We are now waiting for all the minor girls to come through and start developing them. My whole career has been with the same group of players, and now that they're gone, it feels a bit weird to start over with a new team.  

“We have a lot of young talented players who have a different way of thinking about football and a different way of preparing themselves for games, so, it’s up to me to adapt and learn from them as well. We’re all there for one reason and that’s to do our best for the county.” 

For now, Herron is just savouring every moment she has left with the county. She too knows her time as a player won’t go on forever, admitting that the thought of retirement has entered her mind on a number of occasions. 

“To be honest, it has crossed my mind a few times. I’ve had a lot of discussions over the last few years, but I always felt that we had the players there to push on and win an All-Ireland.” Herron said. 

“We had opportunities to be successful, we had a lot of near misses. I say if we could replay a few of those big games, we would change a few things. When you’re that close to a dream, you don’t want to give up on it and that kept driving me on to go back and go at it again. 

“Those glory days might be gone for now, but you want to leave on your own terms and leave the team in a better place. I want to give these younger girls a good platform and a good opportunity to carry the team into the future. 

“When you’re still able to play at this level and you’re still loving the game as much as I do, you want to keep going at it, that’s why I’m still here.”