​Connacht Final was step number three in St Brigid’s 2026 journey says captain Niamh Donegan

Ambition burns bright in the St Brigid’s camp, undimmed by their victory in last Saturday’s AIB Connacht LGFA Junior Club Championship Final in Swinford with captain Niamh Donegan proclaiming their 2-17 to 3-6 win over Shamrock Gaels as three number three on their journey in 2026.​

​Fresh off an excellent speech to the crowd after accepting the Westbake Glenamaddy Cup, Niamh was initially apprehensive about a media interview, fearing she wouldn’t know what to say but the St Brigid’s captain found the words to express the delight in the Drumreilly, Aughawillan and Aughnasheelin camp.

“I'm delighted, the girls just put in a super effort from the word go,” Niamh told the Observer, “They fought for each other and they helped each other and they never gave up till the very end. They just held their fight till the very end and they battled really, really strong to the finish.”

With St Brigid’s rich history, first as Aughawillan and then with the name change to St Brigid’s, setting the sights on a Connacht title was something that was always in their minds according to Niamh: “Management, from the very beginning of the year, we met in January and they instilled the belief in us that we were going to go till the very end of the year playing football and they instilled that belief.

“They said the county title wasn't enough, they said that the County title was third on the list at the minute and that the Connacht Final, was number four. They always tell us that every day we reset, we go again - today is fourth on the list and they're looking for us to progress. They have the belief in us to progress on so we're going to try and get back to work now next week, and fight and keep going.”

For Niamh, Saturday’s Connacht Final was a welcome return to action after her involvement in the County Final victory over Keeldra Gaels ended after an injury just a minute into the game, an experience she definitely didn’t enjoy! “I was distraught, but look, these things happen and that's sport and that's why we have a team. There's not just one person on a team and the girls really stood up that day in the county final, they fought for each other and while it was hard to watch from the line, it was actually lovely to see how much they all stood up for each other and fought.

“But I'm delighted to be back there playing today because it's not very nice having to watch and think that you could be trying to do what they're doing out there. It's lovely to be part of it because when everyone's playing for each other, there's nothing nicer than playing with them all.”

On a day when St Brigid’s performed exceptionally well, Niamh joked that she wouldn’t like to be responsible for picking the Player of the Match: “I wouldn't like to pick a player in the match now. It's definitely not a nice decision to be making, but there were so many girls there that stood out. Aoife Salmon minds the house, she's brilliant there at the back. There's lots of girls up front there every day, always showing for the ball, scoring, everything.

“Without them, I'm sure we wouldn't be able to win, but Dearbhla was superb in the middle of the field. She was the driving force. Ciara Gaffney was also excellent. There's so many players there that you could be giving it to, and it's never an easy decision, but of course you have to give it to one.”

Saturday’s Final was the second game in just six days for St Brigid’s and Niamh admitted it had been a challenge to recover and prepare for the final: “It was a quick turnaround from Monday, it was definitely hard, and to try and recover and get ourselves ready for today, because it came very, very quick. We'd normally have two training sessions during the week and we were only able to have one. We have a lot of girls away and we didn't really ask them to travel this week because it was a lot on the girls.

“It was Monday evening when we finished our last game, so we needed the rest. I think the rest actually did us better this week. We met up Thursday evening for a light session, because the work is done and there's no point in killing yourself. Now we do have a bit of work to do between now and the next game, but we have lots of time to do it and to reset and rest.”

Before that All–Ireland semi-final, however, will be a few celebrations before the preparations start for the All-Ireland Semi-Final: “Oh, don't worry. We'll celebrate tonight and maybe a bit of tomorrow, and then we'll get back to work during the week. We'll push on. We have a lot of time between now and then, but we won't find it coming.”