James Daly: 'That result will not define our season'

There was no dressing this one up. No soft-focus lens, no mitigating circumstances that could blunt the edges of a chastening afternoon for Donegal.  

The numbers didn’t lie — 2-17 to 0-6, a drubbing in every sense. Galway were rampant, relentless, and superior in every way. Donegal, for all their grit and intent, were outclassed by a side operating at a level they can only aspire to for now. 

But if there was despair in the scoreline, there was none in James Daly’s words. The Donegal manager stood in the wreckage of a first league defeat in 2025 and refused to see it as anything more than a bump in the road.  

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“It is what it is, we’re not going to define our season by that game,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a tough day considering we were playing the best team in the division, maybe in the country.” 

The game was barely up and running before Galway had their claws in it, Nicola Ward setting the tone inside a minute, Shauna Hynes and Ailbhe Davoren stitching together sharp attacking patterns, and then Donegal’s afternoon truly unravelled.  

Two goals, both gifts, both killers. Hynes, seizing on a turnover, punching a hole in Donegal’s resistance. Olivia Divilly, played in by Roisin Leonard, making sure there was no way back. It was 2-4 to 0-4 at half-time and Donegal were staring down the barrel. 

Daly knew it, too. “We were disappointed with some of our execution, we were rattled on the ball too often,” he admitted. “Even the scores they got early on in the first half… like the goals came from two poor mistakes by us, but we’re a very young team, there’s probably not a younger team in the country.” 

That youth is both a blessing and a curse. Donegal started at least four teenagers on Sunday, some of them still in school. The future is bright, but the present is unforgiving. Daly acknowledged the learning curve, tipping his hat to the effort if not the execution.  

“I give all of them great credit because their workrate is top-drawer, but we just need a bit of experience.” 

Galway weren’t about to ease off, and the second half was an exhibition. Roisin Leonard came out of the dressing room firing and never let up. Davoren, Divilly, substitute Kate Slevin — they all queued up to add to Donegal’s woes.  

By the time Maryanne Jordan clipped over the final score, Galway had extended their lead to an emphatic 17 points. Donegal, for their part, hadn’t troubled the scoreboard since the 41st minute. 

And yet, there was no despondency from Daly. This was never going to be the measure of their season.  

“Every time we lose it’s tough, but we’ve been fortunate enough that we’ve been undefeated up until this point,” he said.  

“This is our first loss and the girls are disappointed, but we’ll go back to the video and see where we have to improve. 

“We knew coming into this job that it wasn’t going to be a quick fix, but we will get better.  

“This is the level you want to get to where you’re playing teams like Galway. We’ll have a look at this game over the next two weeks and get ready for Tipperary. We’re third in the league but we’re still looking over our shoulder to see what’s coming behind us.” 

Sunday was bruising, no doubt. But Donegal won’t let it define them.