Rodgers eyes Donegal’s return to the top level

By Michael McMullan

DONEGAL ladies open their All-Ireland Senior Championship campaign in Dublin on Saturday and captain Róisín Rodgers is well-aware of the task in hand.

Dublin had three goals to spare over Mayo in their first game so Rodgers knows Donegal must be ready to put their best foot forward.

She points to the level of competition at senior level and the experience opponents will have in the tank.

“Dublin have so much experience throughout the years and they’ve won All-Irelands before.

“It’s going to be a hard-fought battle as it always is. Dublin are a quality, quality side and they have so much strength.”

“On our side of it, it’s about being able to play to the best of our capabilities.

“We have to keep our heads, concentrate on our game and what we can do well.”

Looking at her own side, Rodgers looks back with satisfaction on a season that has so far seen Donegal secure a spot in Division One for 2027.

Getting promoted was high up the list of priorities. Draws and near misses saw promotion elude them in 2025 but it’s a box they’ve now ticked.

“We wanted to really prove to ourselves that we were able to make progress,” Rodger said.

“Genuinely, it was just about seeing actual progress as a team,” Rodgers added on the most pleasing aspect of the season.

“We had a lot of the younger girls coming in last year. There was a big shift in players coming in, trying to get everything up to date and up to a standard that we wanted.”

Improvement

There has also been improvement on their attacking play and their transition game.

“I think there’s definitely a greater understanding and knowledge around the game in general,” she added.

“We took everything that we had from last year through the league, through the championship and we definitely took the learnings through that.

“That was a massive part for us, in how we progressed.”

While this weekend marks the beginning of their All-Ireland bid, Donegal have already tasted championship football in the form of defeat at the hands of Tyrone in the Ulster semi-final.

Rodgers looks across the Ulster landscape and is impressed with what she can see. Cavan join Donegal in Division One next season. Tyrone are back at senior level and Monaghan pushed Cavan all the way in the Ulster final.

“That just goes to show how competitive Ulster football can be,” she added.

“Any time you come up against an Ulster team it’s going to be a tough battle and I don’t think anybody takes anybody for granted in that.”

Those games also brought out the competitive edge Donegal will need with clashes against Mayo and Dublin coming down the tracks.

They are the two games that will shape their hopes of challenging for the Brendan Martin Cup.

Beyond that, being back in Division One is where Donegal want to be in the long-term. Rodgers has played in enough crunch games – wins and defeats – to know how it all fits together.

“When you’re up in that standard and you’re coming up against teams that are really physically strong, physically fast and really athletic, it’s tough,” said Rodgers, who works as a personal trainer.

“It’s tough competition but you want to be going up against the best. To be doing that, you need to compete against the best as well.”

“Whenever you go into these competitions, it is like another level up,” she added.

“We just need to match that level as best as we possibly can and go in with as much fight as possible.

“Those teams are up there for a reason and we’re up there too. We want to try our best to be as competitive as we can be and give it our best shot.”