By Michael McMullan

NAOMH Muire manager Danny O’Donnell credits the maturing of his young core, mixed with some returning experience, for the club’s return to Division One after 25 years.

Before 1999 and 2000, the club were in a 15-team northern division one in the 1980s.

Since the turn of the millennium, three successive relegations led to a spell in the lower echelons of the Donegal leagues.

O’Donnell previously managed the club for a five-year spell, culminating in beating St Naul’s to win the 2013 intermediate title.

When he stepped back in for the 2022 season, Naomh Mhuire were placed 35th out of the 39 clubs in the county only for a restructure to three divisions keeping them from Division Four football.

“We got promoted through a playoff into Division Two,” he said of the current crop. They stayed up before finishing sixth in 2024.

“This year was the next step in progression,” O’Donnell added. “We thought we might be in the conversation for a promotion because we started well.”

Before the season, there was a focus on progress and getting a solid season in the bank before the championship preparations.

With numbers not plentiful, Naomh Muire opted for a core of young players who’ve learned lessons from defeats over the last four seasons and stayed on board.

“A couple of lads have returned that were away from home,” O’Donnell added.

“Harry Harden, Dara White and Paul Yank (Boyle), they were three of the senior players.

“It’s really backboned by the young group of lads. They’re now 21, 22 or 23 and starting to mature into good footballers.

“They commit to everything, their strength and conditioning and their training.

“They’re ambitious as a group and they want to achieve as much as they possibly can.”

O’Donnell points to the input of his right-hand man Ownie McGarvey and the work Tom McHugh before that. Deeper again, the underage coaching teams were producing the players that have stepped into the senior ranks.

Naomh Muire finished third in the league, missing out on automatic promotion to Aodh Ruadh Ballyshannon on score difference, setting up a play-off with Downings who finished third from bottom in Division One.

After leading 2-10 to 1-3 at half-time, with their best football of the season, they had to withstand a strong comeback to earn the victory that will see them in the top flight next season.

“When the opportunity to hit Division One came along during the season, we had a conversation around it,” O’Donnell said.

“The boys wanted to test themselves against the best. Once they wanted it, it was really up to them to go and chase it and they did.”

Once in the play-off, O’Donnell felt the tough games stood to his side in the face of Downings’ comeback.

“Over the course of any league campaign, you need to dig out results,” he said.

“There were five or six games that were very tight towards the end and we got over the line by a point or two.”

That resilience and character made the difference and they’ll need it when the championship kicking in next month.

In a 12-team structure, every team plays four games with the top eight into the quarter-finals, away from any relegation worries.

“Our first game is a local derby, away Na Rossa,” O’Donnell said of the next focus. They beat us in the same fixture last year before we went on to semi-final where was lost to Termon.”