BY MATTHEW WILSON
DONEGAL senior ladies manager James Daly is looking forward to the new season and the challenge of the new rules as the squad prepare for the upcoming Division Two campaign.
Daly came onboard with the Donegal ladies side at the beginning of last year and is now getting his squad ready for his second term at the helm.
It’s a couple of months now since the end of the 2025 campaign where Donegal preserved their senior status courtesy of a win over Leitrim.
Daly is operating with a youthful Donegal panel and expressed that they were disappointed with how things went but is optimistic ahead of the new campaign where they’ll be aiming to secure promotion from the second tier of the National League.
“We were disappointed, we ended up playing in a relegation game. We were new to the job last year, we came in late. We brought in a lot of youth and we probably didn’t get the bump that we expected.
“But when you reflect on it when you’re depending on a lot of 19 and 20-year-olds to do these jobs, there’s going to be a learning curve with these girls and it’s going to take us a while to gel the whole thing together.
“We’re positive going into the new season and our main goal here now is to get promoted out of Division Two, we know that’s going to be tough but that’s where we’re setting out our stall.”
Working with such a youthful squad, Daly’s project was always going to be a patient process but with another year of senior experience under their belt, the group will be in a stronger position entering the 2026 season.
There’s a trio from last year’s minor squad entering the senior setup this year but they’ve played with a lot of the players within the group already so the Armagh native is expecting their transition to be seamless.
“Absolutely and that’ll be the cry there, we can’t use that as an excuse because they’ve another year under their belt. There’s a couple of minors coming in from last year in Ava Caulfield, Aoife McDermott and Elisha Boyle.
“They’re going to blend in well because they played a lot with these girls over the years. We’re looking at it that these girls all have another year under their belt, we’ve another bit of experience back in as a squad and we’re hoping it’ll reflect on the pitch for us.”
The Donegal senior ladies squad have regathered in recent times for collective training and challenge matches in preparation for the upcoming season.
Daly’s outfit will begin their Division Two campaign on Sunday 25 January, with a home encounter against Westmeath.
As well as the couple of minors, the Donegal ladies boss has also drafted a couple of older players into his panel to add some experience to the group and he expressed that things are going well amongst the camp at the minute.
“Things are good. We’ve brought six or seven girls into the squad that are a bit older, some that weren’t available last year and some of the younger girls have really stepped up. We played Mayo in a challenge match a few weeks ago and some of the young girls really stood up well.
“We know what’s ahead of us, we play Westmeath first at home. Like last year, there’s only going to be a kick of a ball between everybody.
“Everybody has the same idea, we want to get promoted and that’ll come down to who gets the bit between their teeth at the right time in the season.”
There’s going to be a big change in this year’s National League, with 12 rule enhancements being trialled during the early part of the season.
Six of the 12 changes mirror the GAA Football Review Committee’s rule enhancements in the men’s game while the other six look specifically at the LGFA rules.
Speaking to the Donegal News, Daly discussed that the group are adjusting well to the new rules. With tackling being focused on in these enhancements, the Donegal boss is expecting more physicality in the game this term and hopes that there’s a consistency in refereeing around it.
“It’s good. We looked at the men’s game last year and the two-point arc is in which will be beneficial to the kickouts, a clean catch outside the arc is going to be big. The tap and go is good, the three up and the four back as well, it’s all something you need to work with.
“We’re trying to keep it simple as we start here but it’s just about getting the girls into the habit of it. You’ve done things all your life and now you’re changing it a bit.”
“We think it’s going to be a bit more physical and that’s a good thing. The issues that we’ve always had with referees at ladies level, one guy will blow the whistle for every tackle last year and another guy will let it all go. We’re hoping there’s consistency now and everyone will play it the same way.”
The rule changes certainly had a positive impact on the men’s game when they were introduced 12 months ago, with a lot more fast-paced and high scoring games now taking place around the country.
The Armagh man is expecting the enhancements to the ladies game to really suit the top footballers and feels that they’ll also have a positive effect on the ladies football.
“It’s going to suit the really good footballers. We’ve been trying to push on it, we’ve had referees coming in and talking to us about it. For challenge matches, we’ve brought in top-line referees that will explain things as we go along.
“It’s just about learning the new rules and after that it should be simple enough. I think it will be good for the ladies game.”
