Making history with Donegal complements Leaving Cert: O’Neill

By Chris McNulty

LAST winter, Kara O’Neill and her fellow Donegal players weren’t even sure if they would become teammates – but now they’re trailblazers for Donegal camogie.

Donegal have fielded a senior team at Centra National League and Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Championship level for the first time in 2026.

This Saturday, they play their first home championship game when welcoming Mayo to O’Donnell Park in Letterkenny.

Donegal did have a senior team previously – that last being in 2006, when current panellist Ciara Coulter (née Cullen) was involved – but this year has been their first foray into the official national adult competition.

The historical and future – significance of it all certainly isn’t lost on the Donegal players.

McGee pleased the extra yards paid off

“This is a whole new step for Donegal camogie,” O’Neill says. “Not even for us, but it’s fantastic for the young girls coming through that there is more of a future to it now and they can progress to play for the county.”

The teenager from Castlefin is also busy preparing for her Leaving Certificate at Finn Valley College.

“It’s actually brilliant to get out to train a few times a week,” she says. “It’s good to get a break from studying. We train three times a week. It’s definitely good to get the head out of the books for a while no matter what you’re doing. As long as you get the study done, it’s a good outlet to have.”

O’Neill is one of four players on the Donegal squad ready to sit the Leaving, but first she has a big test with the Donegal camogs on Saturday.

“It is a great privilege to represent Donegal,” she says. “It’s insane actually, going out to play for Donegal, but it’s brilliant that we have this chance.”

Donegal competed in Division 3B of the Centra Camogie League – having just six weeks’ notice before clashing competitive ash – and they now host Mayo at 3.30pm on Saturday in Letterkenny in the Junior Championship, which is played on a round-robin basis.

Tough going

“We had a tough league. It was hard going, but we’re a completely new team and a lot of us had never played with each other before. It was hard finding out about the new players and working as a team together.

“It was a late enough call that we were going to go into the League. It was a wee bit last minute, but everyone wanted it so we were delighted to get in and give it a go.

“It has been a big step to go into senior county. It has taught me a whole new level of the strength and skill of the players. It’s very sharp and completely different to what I played before. Playing in the senior club for two years has definitely helped.

“Saturday is a massive game for us. We’d love to get a great crowd out to support us in Letterkenny.”

She was in her last year of primary school in 2020 when the Markievicz Camogie Club was in its infancy. They did a recruitment drive in some of the local schools – Coulter was among the recruiters – and O’Neill decided to pop along.

“I always had a hurl about the house anyway, I just never went out to train,” she says. “I went to a lot of the Setanta games to watch so it was always something I wanted to play.”

Kevin Campbell, a stalwart for Donegal and Setanta, was her first coach when she went to Markievicz and set the tone for what was to follow. Campbell, a two-time Nicky Rackard Cup winner with Donegal, was followed by a series of coaches including Maeve Moss, Pascal Cullen, Brian Harvey, Faragh Campbell, Aimee Lafferty, Marcella White, James Callaghan and Ciaran O’Neill.

Family link

The latter, her father, has filled several roles at Setanta, including as a player, management team member and referee. He is also a part of the Donegal management, which is led by Eunan O’Donnell.

In 2024, O’Neill was a part of the Donegal squad that defeated Louth in Abbotstown to win the All-Ireland U16C Shield. O’Neill and Paige Rushe from that side are now part of the Donegal senior set-up.

“That win in 2024 was a big stepping stone for Donegal camogie,” O’Neill says. “It brought a huge bit of attention to us and let us push forward, even driving us on to make the senior move.”

She was captain of the Markievicz team that won the Donegal minor league and championship double recently after a big tussle with old rivals Burt. She was also captain of the county minors this term.

Markievicz will also play in the senior league in Tyrone as well as the domestic competitions in Donegal.

“With the Donegal seniors, we’re just trying to improve every day we go out. We have a good mix of clubs and we have players from all over Donegal here.

“It’s very competitive and training is so competitive all the time.

“There is great work going on in Donegal camogie. The coaches and managers, especially, are working so hard to keep it moving forward. It’s like a community all working on one thing.”