How relentless drive took Roisin Rodgers to the Donegal captaincy

There was a time when Roisin Rodgers wasn’t just fighting for her place in the Donegal team — she was fighting just to get to training.  

She remembers those early mornings, setting off before dawn, walking miles to catch a bus, all to make it to a single session.

No shortcuts, no complaints. Just the relentless belief that if she put in the work, everything else would follow. It has.  

Six years on, Rodgers is no longer the teenager on the fringes. She is Donegal’s captain, the player they look to when games are in the balance, the one leading a young squad into a season of transition. At just 23, the weight of the captaincy still feels surreal at times. 

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“It was a big shock when I was named captain,” she told Donegal Live.   

“It was a pinch-me moment, mainly because I’m only 23, but then I remember that this is my sixth season with the team. It’s mad how quickly time goes. It’s only when you look back that you realise how far you’ve come.”  

She looks back often, but never to admire. Those long bus rides, those mornings where she had to prove she belonged — those are what shaped her. Now, they shape how she leads.  

“I remember what it was like when I first came in, and I’m just trying to make it easier for the younger players now coming into the team.   

“Those early days in the team are when you learn the most as a player. I can see them improving all the time, and that’s what we need if we want to get wins and big performances.”  

This season, Donegal has had their moments. Undefeated so far, with three draws and a win, the results might not be perfect, but the confidence is building with Rodgers leading the way on every occasion . . . a late equaliser the first day out against Clare before landing the winner goal against Monaghan in the last minute.  

“We’ve had a great start to our season,” she says. “Of course, we haven’t won all our games, but we still have that undefeated streak at the minute, and that has left morale quite high.   

“We are obviously looking to try and win every game, and hopefully that will come our way as the season goes on.”  

The Naomh Mhuire knows it won’t be easy. This is a Donegal team in transition, with a new manager in James Daly and a squad that has seen an influx of youth. The youngest player in the group only turned 18 a few weeks ago.  

“We knew going into this season that with James coming in, there was going to be a big restart,” she says.   

“A lot of older players stepped away, and now we have a lot of younger players coming through. It’s a new group, and a new season that everyone has to get used to, both management and players.”  

In terms of leadership, it has come naturally to Rodgers, but she admits that with the captaincy comes a different kind of pressure.  

“When I was named captain, people said to me, ‘Just focus on your game, don’t change,’ and that is true, but there’s also a little bit of added pressure too — probably more from outside than inside the camp,” she says.   

“For me, I just try to stick to my own routine while trying to motivate the people around me as much as I can. I just try to be a voice in the dressing room now that I’m one of the older players in the team.”  

That voice will be crucial as the season rolls on. Donegal are learning on the job, growing with each game, and Rodgers knows there’s no point getting ahead of themselves.  

“We take on every challenge that comes our way and don’t let nerves get to us,” she says. “All we want is to keep ice in the brain and fire in the belly as the season goes on and not lose that edge.”  

That edge — the same one that had her walking miles for a single training session all those years ago — is what sets her apart. It’s what makes her the kind of leader Donegal need.