Donegal's Niamh Carr is looking forward to an Ulster final showdown against Armagh
They have had a long wait since the end of their Lidl National Football League Division 2 campaign, but Niamh Carr and Donegal will finally return to competitive action at St Tiernach's Park in Clones later on today.
A little under six weeks on from finishing their NFL journey for 2025 with a narrow defeat to Cork in Ballyshannon, the O'Donnell County will face Armagh in the TG4 Ulster Senior Championship decider in the Monaghan venue this afternoon (throw-in 3pm). Originally due to take place next weekend, this fixture was brought forward to form a double-header with the Ulster men's final featuring the same two counties in Clones.
The anticipation is that a total of 29,000 spectators (i.e. a full capacity crowd) will pass through the turnstiles of St Tiernach's Park over the course of the day. Having witnessed first-hand the impact a joint billing can have for the female code, Carr is hopeful there will be a healthy attendance for their curtain-raising clash with the Orchard County.
"It has been a long enough spell between the last league game and the Ulster final. We kind of knew that at the start of the year. It was nice to get a good enough finish to the league and we've been working very hard. Trying to get challenge games in when we can, to keep up our match skills," Carr explained.
"We've had a few double headers before, but we haven't had one for an Ulster final. We definitely have noticed with the double headers that it does bring a bigger crowd in.
"During the league as well, a lot of games fell on the same day for the Donegal ladies and the Donegal men. I suppose crowds weren't able to get to both games, so it's nice that now the whole county can get together and support both teams."
The reason Donegal have been idle since the end of their league odyssey on March 30 is that themselves and Armagh are the only two sides in the top-tier of the northern province. This was also the case last year and while Cavan were part of the competition in 2023, today's teams also met in that season's Ulster senior showpiece.
While Armagh were favourites to prevail on that day in Owenbeg, Carr and Donegal pulled out all the stops to earn a 1-10 to 0-9 victory. 12 months later, the Orchard women were expected to turn the tables on their O'Donnell counterparts after claiming the Lidl NFL Division 1 title a matter of weeks earlier, but it took a late Niamh Reel point to secure them a 0-17 to 1-13 win after extra-time in Clones.
Although Armagh competed in another top-tier league final against Kerry in Croke Park last month, and Donegal found themselves in Division 2 of the NFL for the second successive season, Carr believes their success over the Orchard in 2023 shows that the form book often goes out the window on the day of an Ulster championship game.
"That year that we won, 2023, we were complete underdogs going into that game. That was a fantastic win that day. I think when it comes to Ulster football and when it's a final, anything can happen. We're looking forward to it and we're doing everything we can to prepare ourselves the best way."
A business, geography and IT teacher at Newpark Comprehensive School in Blackrock, Carr has been playing her club football for the past couple of years with Dublin's Kilmacud Crokes. She has helped the Stillorgan side to win a brace of county and provincial championships since officially joining forces with them and she also featured at right corner-back when Kilmacud lost to Galway's Kilkerrin-Clonberne in the AIB All-Ireland Club Senior Football final at Croke Park on December 14 of last year.
Whereas some of the Dublin and Galway stars who were on the display in that game gradually reintegrated back into the inter-county code, Carr made an immediate return to the Donegal panel.
She started at left half-back in their NFL Division 2 opener away to Clare on January 26 and was a virtual ever-present for the rest of the campaign.
"That was probably a decision I thought was important for me. Just because I'm getting a little bit older now and some people might like to rest their body, but for me I think it's better for me to keep going. I think there was maybe a three-week turnaround or so from my All-Ireland final with club to when I was back in with Donegal.
"That was just a personal choice of mine. I personally don't want to be coming in mid-league. I like being there from the start. I enjoyed the few weeks off, but I got back in straight away for the first league game. It was grand."
While Milford – located approximately five miles from her home village of Cranford – was her original club in Donegal, it wasn't until the age of 17 that she first lined out for them. However, she had been playing Gaelic football up to that point for Loreto Community School in Milford, where she was close friends with future Republic of Ireland women's soccer international Amber Barrett.
Barrett's uncle Marty was the manager of the Milford minor girls team around this time and after being asked if she would be interested in joining the club, Carr jumped at the opportunity to get involved.
"I was very good friends with Amber in school. We played together on the soccer team and the Gaelic team. Amber was telling her uncle 'oh there's a girl that plays some Gaelic'. It was Amber that got me into playing with Milford, to be fair. Then I played with her and we played with Donegal together then," Carr added.
"I give her a message before every international game. To see her hard work pay off, she's just absolutely brilliant. I tell her every day that I'm talking to her that we're so proud of her. Any time I can, I try and catch up with her. She's a busy woman, but she always leaves time for us as well."
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