A special season for Naomh Columba

By Niall Gartland

IT’S been a whirlwind few months for the Naomh Columba club.

Their ladies team claimed All-Ireland Gaeltacht honours in June and powered on to their first Donegal Junior title in 17 years on October 5.

And in a very happy coincidence, on the exact same day, their men’s team annexed the Donegal Intermediate title with victory over Malin.

Typical of so many small rural clubs dotted around the county, there are strong family connections back-boning things. Eugene Doherty is manager of the ladies, Brendan Doherty leads the men, and captaining the ladies is Louise Doherty, a cousin of the two men.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s Ulster Junior Championship quarter-final clash against Killeevan Sarsfields, Louise laid out what’s already been a season beyond their wildest imaginations.

“It’s been unreal – starting off with the county Gaeltacht and then progressing through to the All-Ireland.

“We went down there obviously looking to have the craic and a good time, and to get that All-Ireland was a huge boost for us.

“Then winning the county title, it was such a special weekend for us and the club. It was so historic to win it alongside the men, and the celebrations were just unbelievable.

“We were so happy because it had been such a long wait – it was 17 years since the ladies had won it beforehand.”

Seventeen long years, though Doherty points out that the vast majority of the current playing panel wouldn’t so much as remember their previous success.

“Half the girls wouldn’t have been born 17 years ago! We’ve a really young team – I’m 23, and I’m the fourth oldest on the team. We’ve a very young team, and a lot of our girls were involved in the minor final a week after our Junior final, so they’ve been flat out all year.

“Even though they’re so young, they’ve had no problems stepping up. It was one of those minor girls who got the last point in the second-half of extra-time that sealed the deal for us.”

Doherty says that the approach to their forthcoming Ulster campaign is to throw the kitchen sink at it and see what happens. It’s a wonderful opportunity so they’re not about to shirk the challenge.

“I suppose it’s uncharted territory for us, we’ve never been there before, but we wouldn’t be known for backing down from a challenge. We hope to progress through Ulster – our opponents will obviously be hoping for the same thing, so we’ll do what we can to get over the line.”