St Eunan’s have ‘bigger aspirations’ this year – Ward

By Matthew Wilson

THE Dr Maguire Cup has been safely recaptured and has taken up residence in Letterkenny once again, but St Eunan’s defender Caolan Ward says his club have ‘bigger aspirations’ this term.

The O’Donnell Park residents secured their 17th senior county title courtesy of a one-point victory over Naomh Conaill at MacCumhaill Park last weekend.

It took a last-gasp effort from Ciaran Moore to see Kieran Donnelly’s charges prevail, but it made it a ‘sweet way to win’ according to the former Donegal defender.

St Eunan’s will have enjoyed their triumph, but their season’s not over yet as they will now compete in the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship.

They will face the winners of the Fermanagh Senior Football Championship, Derrygonnelly Harps or Erne Gaels, in the quarter-finals of the competition.

The St Eunan’s club are riding a crest of a wave across all codes presently and Donnelly’s men would relish the opportunity to prolong their campaign with an Ulster run.

Ward and his teammates have failed to get past the first hurdle in their last two provincial jaunts but with a seasoned side, they have the potential to go deep into the competition this year

It’s evident from Ward’s words, that there is a desire to make an impression in Ulster this season.

“We’ve put in a serious amount of work to get to where we are today. I think that’s why we have bigger aspirations going down the line,” said the St Eunan’s defender.

“Going back even as far as 2021, we played Watty Grahams from Derry, they went on to win the Ulster Club Championship and eventually the All-Ireland.

“Then Errigal Ciaran won the Ulster Club Championship and lost the All-Ireland Final in the same year.

“We knew that we were never far away, but Donegal is a landmine and it’s incredibly difficult to get out of.

“It’s the same two teams that were there for the last couple of years and the same two winners. If we’d any ambition of winning it, we had to beat Naomh Conaill. To get them on the day and in the final with the last kick of the game, it’s a sweet way to win.”