By Gaelscéalaí Inis Eoghain

"Exhilaration personified!"
Concise and poetic, Joanne McKinney's description of the Donegal fans in St Tiernach's Park, Clones said it all.
"When Katy Herron held the O'Harte Cup aloft on Sunday afternoon, she made history. I am delighted to be able to say that I was there to see the Donegal senior ladies team winning their first ever Ulster football final.
"We just cheered ourselves hoarse. The stadium was a sea of green and yellow and the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic.
"We took a busload of our underage footballers to Monaghan to cheer on Carndonagh CLG seniors, Treasa Doherty and Deirdre Foley, and they had had a ball. All in all it was a very special occasion," added the beaming ladies football co-ordinator. "CLG Carndonagh would like to congratulate the team and its manager, Davy McLaughlin."
Joanne, who represents underage and adult players at club and county level, joined CLG Carndonagh in her teens.
She said: "I really followed my brother Kevin Doherty or Tiny Toner as he is better known, into the club. He was playing for the senior team in those days, so I joined the ladies team.
"Unfortunately that team broke up. Thankfully, however, CLG Carndonagh decided to revive senior ladies football in 2013. Treasa, who had played underage football for the club, and the Burke sisters: Úna, Ciara, Sinead and Aileen, were instrumental in the revival.
"Treasa took on the captaincy and Aileen became the extremely efficient secretary of our Bórd Na nÓg, when she retired from playing. The team is managed by the girls' dad Anthony, so it is a real family affair," said Joanne.
Involved in coaching at CLG Carndonagh for the past 12 years, Joanne paid tribute to Deirdre's dad, Tony Foley.
She said: "Tony kept ladies football alive for years in CLG Carndonagh. He trained the ladies before I came on the scene. Tony is one of the unsung heroes of our club. He is a referee, he cuts the grass and he paints the lines. Without Tony Foley there would be no ladies football at CLG Carndonagh. His daughters, Niamh and Sharon are also retired county players.
"We are lucky that CLG Carndonagh has always been extremely supportive of ladies football, more so, perhaps, than other teams in the county, where men's football would tend to take precedence."
Against all the odds, CLG Carndonagh went on to win the Donegal ladies junior football final in September past.
"The fact that we beat Buncrana, having just got up and running, was amazing. However, this season the jump up from the junior to the senior division has proved challenging," said Joanne.
"A lot of our players have been out with injuries. In addition, it has been difficult to synchronise club matches and county matches. Regrettably we have had to postpone or cancel some of our club matches. We were also competing in Ulster this year, where we were narrowly beaten by a very experienced Dromore team.
"Our senior goalkeeper, Yvonne McElhinney was injured this time last year and was replaced by one of our u-16 players, Shauna Harkin. Shauna is a natural goalkeeper, very instinctive. She managed extremely well in the senior team," added Joanne.
Joanne is also confident that the influx of junior players into the senior team will bode well for next season.
She explained: "CLG Carndonagh's U16 team is improving all the time because they have been training and playing with the adults this year. They have had some tough matches, which will stand them in good stead.
"Yvonne will be back in a couple of weeks and Shauna will be playing in her own age group. With all of that valuable experience to draw upon, CLG Carndonagh should do well.
"That is not to mention our county players, Niamh McDaid and Rachel McLaughlin who are currently on the u-16 panel. From Fundamentals to seniors, CLG Carndonagh now has more than 100 players and mentors registered with the Croke Park Ladies Bord. Hopefully we will be represented on county teams for many years to come, following in the footsteps of our own Róisín McDonald, Anita Doherty and Caroline Kelly," smiled Joanne.
Looking to the future, Joanne is keen to get more coaches involved in CLG Carndonagh.
She added: "I also want to introduce the 'Gaelic For Mothers and Others' to Pairc Uí Dhochartaigh. I think it is crucial that we get women involved and re-involved in our club.
"This scheme involves one training session per week, with an Ulster and All Ireland blitz competition to work towards. Fun, exercise and getting together socially, CLG Carndonagh has it all when it comes to ladies football!"

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