Now THAT’S Commitment… From Australia To Donegal For The Love of Gaelic Football

We find it hard these bitter cold days here at Her Towers to get up off the chair and make ourselves a cup of tea, never mind go booting it around a football pitch so we have serious respect for Donegal lady, Aoife McDonnell. Aoife was captain of the All-Ireland winning Donegal side in 2010 when they scooped the Intermediate championship title. The talented footballer headed off travelling to Australia after the win, but has now returned home just on time for Donegal to kick off the 2015 Tesco Homegrown Ladies NFL which sees them meet Armagh this Sunday. “I suppose it was always on my mind to come back when I went away,” she told the Donegal Democrat. “My last game was against Cork in the All-Ireland quarter-final in 2012." “We suffered a very heavy defeat that dey and I was never going to be happy to have that as my last game for the county. I had kept in touch while I was away and after speaking to Karen [Guthrie] last summer, I decided now was the time to come back,” she continued, adding that three of the team have come home from travelling. Aoife, along with teammates Yvonne McMonagle and Niamh Hegarty, have been playing with Sydney-based club Cormac McAnnallen club for the last few years, winning the local championship there. “It is great to be back and I’m really looking forward to getting back playing with the girls again,” she continued. “We are without Geraldine McLaughlin, she is waiting to have a knee operation but hopefully she will get it sorted soon.”