Lidl Ladies’ NFL Division Two
NEW year, new manager, new faces for Donegal as they prepare to get their season underway on Sunday against Laois in Division Two.
Kilcar man John McNulty has replaced Maxi Curran, who stepped down when the 2023 season ended in a quarter-final defeat to eventual All-Ireland champions Dublin.
During his six years in charge, Curran guided the county to three Ulster titles, reached the Division One final and also made it to the last four of the All-Ireland senior championship
This may be McNulty’s first venture into inter-county management but he has experience of managing senior men’s club teams in Donegal, and he is looking forward to the season ahead.
He comes in at a time when Donegal find themselves going through a period of change, with household and experienced players like Karen Guthrie, Emer Gallagher, Niamh Hegarty unavailable to him.
Saskia Boyle and Amy Boyle Carr are also not available, but McNulty does still have captain Niamh McLaughlin and Katy Herron on board and their experience will be crucial in bringing on younger players who have been added to the panel.
“Pre-season has went well, it just takes a bit of time for the players to adjust to a new management team and for a new management team to find their feet and learn about the players,” said McNulty.
“It’s an honour to be manager of Donegal ladies and I’m really excited and looking forward to the year ahead.
“Naturally some players have stepped away and they have given so much to Donegal over the years. Some are travelling, but it’s a change now for other players, both ones who have been on the fringes, and new players, to come in, step up and take Donegal on again, just as the players before them have done.”
Donegal were relegated from Division One last year but they turned their season around in reclaiming the Ulster senior title and reaching the last eight of the All-Ireland competition.
McNulty wants to try and keep Donegal as close to the top of the Division Two table as he can, but with a new-look squad perhaps lacking in senior inter-county experience, and knowing how competitive this league division is, he knows how important each game is.
“We didn’t do well in the league last year and we want to try and get off to a positive start with a win, with the points, but we are under no illusion of how big a challenge they will present.
‘’It will be the same each game. It’s a very competitive league and there will be no easy games. We can’t look ahead of ourselves, it’s just about the next game, the next opposition and we know each game will be fight.
‘’Laois reached the league final of Division Two last year and we expect them to be a good side, really pushing to go one step further this year.
‘’It will come down to fine margins and we want to be as far up the table as possible and not have to get involved in a fight to stay in the division.
‘’Each team will be saying the same, though, and fighting as hard as us for the points and the focus for everyone will just be the next game.”
Donegal’s fixtures
Round one
Sunday, January 21 Laois (a)
Round two
Sunday, January 28 Kildare (h)
Round three
Sunday, February 11 Westmeath (h)
Round four
Sunday, February 18 Monaghan (a)
Round five
Sunday, March 3 Tyrone (h)
Round six
Sunday, March 17 Cavan (a)
Round seven
Sunday, March 24 Tipperary (a)
