A little less than 12 months ago, Emer Gallagher found herself a spectator in the stand as Donegal fell to then reigning champions Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. Nine days previous, and just a few minutes into Donegal's group stage game against Kerry, Gallagher had torn her cruciate knee ligament in what was her 99th game of senior inter-county football.
At the weekend, the tables turned for the county, and Gallagher, as Donegal shocked championship favourites Dublin with a six-point victory in Carrick-On-Shannon.
"This time last year we were in the exact same position heading into an All-Ireland quarter-final against Dublin on the same pitch," says Gallagher, speaking at an event to promote Lidl's County Pride campaign.
"I had to watch on as we lost that year, and it was a huge goal for myself just to get back into a position where I’d be able to play and be able to finish out the championship in some capacity, so it was just lovely on Saturday to get back on the field with the girls and a lovely game to be there when we did get the win over Dublin as well."
9 July 2022; Nicole Owens of Dublin has a shot on goal blocked by Róisín Rodgers of Donegal during the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Senior Championship Quarter-Final between Donegal and Dublin at Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada in Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
Gallagher didn't just get back on the pitch for the final few minutes on what was a monumental day not only for Donegal, but ladies football in general. She was in at the deep end for her first game in a year. Manager Maxi Curran tasked Gallagher with starting the match, and marking one of Dublin's most potent weapons, Hannah Tyrrell. The defender didn't sink. She restricted the former Ireland rugby international to just a point from play.
"It was a really under the radar sort of process, in terms of how I was coming back into the training," Gallagher explains.
"And that's really the way I wanted it to be, I definitely didn't want there to be a big fuss about me being available, because I felt like I didn't want that to be any sort of disrespect to the girls that were already playing so well in that position. We had five or six players there competing for two or three positions, and it's a fantastic complaint to have.
"In the lead-up to the game itself, they were just trying out different things, and whenever you're playing the likes of Dublin, I always kind of felt like my height and my strength would be an advantage there, especially whenever the likes of Hannah Tyrrell had to be marked.
"I knew that maybe I was in contention. But then obviously, I was delighted whenever Maxi did have the chat with me about doing the man-marking job on Hannah Tyrrell, and it gave me a great focus then for the weekend as well.
"I love man-marking jobs, I love having that focus. It was just so exciting for me to know that I was going to be there on Saturday. I did definitely feel for the girls that maybe weren't selected, but they were so positive, so encouraging and that's just the way that our panel and our squad have been this year. Everyone is there for each other.
"The perfect example of that is Karen Guthrie not starting at the weekend, and the difference that she made coming onto the pitch as an impact sub, that's just the way you have to be this year, players are going to have to be happy with doing that for the team and coming on as an impact sub. It could be me next week, or it could be another player another week, so we just all have to be there for each other and build each other up too. But I was very, very happy to get that opportunity."
Saturday's game was Gallagher's 100th in a Donegal jersey. She's the seventh Donegal woman to reach that mark, joining Yvonne Bonner, Geraldine McLaughlin, Karen Guthrie, Niamh Hegarty, Nicole McLaughlin and Katy Herron.
25 August 2012; Valerie Mulcahy, Cork, with support from team-mate Laura McMahon, in action against Kelly Wilson, second from right, and Emer Gallagher, right, Donegal. TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Senior Championship Quarter-Final, Cork v Donegal, Dr. Hyde Park, Co. Roscommon. Picture credit: Barry Cregg / SPORTSFILE
This weekend, Donegal face All-Ireland champions Meath in a semi-final at Croke Park. Gallagher says there's a sense of urgency in the panel with many knowing opportunities like Saturday don't come around very often.
'We've a great sense of family in the Donegal squad'
"When I came into the squad as a 16-year-old in 2011, they had just won the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship the year before," she says.
"So they saw a lot of retirements, and people going away travelling after they'd reached that pinnacle after many years of trying. There was definitely that sense of rebuilding from then.
"It took us a long time to find our feet in the senior championship. In 2015, when we won our first Ulster, it definitely showed us that we were well able to compete at that level. There are many of the same players there competing.
"We've had a great sense of family in the squad for many years. When everyone is coming back year after year, there's that sense of camaraderie that you want to be there as well.
"It's a lovely feeling to have that sense of friendship. You're seeing your friends several times a week, and you're going through the good times and the bad times with them.
"There are girls in our team who've had great losses this year, personal losses. I feel like that sense of community and family that we have in the squad has maybe helped them through some of those times. We're so glad to be able to do it.
"We have a fantastic blend of youth and experience in the team. There are plenty of us at the experienced end for sure. That's really one of the big driving factors. Many of us are running out of time.
"If we don't do it now, maybe there is a sense that there's going to be a rebuilding period in the next few years. That's definitely something that has made us hungrier. You know that every year isn't going to be the same."
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