St Eunan's set sights on Ulster after Donegal SFC glory

St Eunan's Caolan Ward ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

St Eunan’s are setting their sights on provincial success after reclaiming the Donegal senior football championship title, with Caolan Ward believing the Letterkenny side have the quality to make a strong impact in Ulster.

The O’Donnell Park men secured their 17th county crown with a one-point victory over Naomh Conaill on Sunday thanks to Ciaran Moore’s late point in Ballybofey.

Having fallen at the first hurdle in their last two Ulster campaigns, St Eunan’s will be determined to make further progress this year as they prepare to face either Derrygonnelly Harps or Erne Gaels.

Ward believes the squad can build on their county success and have greater ambitions for the provincial championship.

“We’ve put in a serious amount of work to get to where we are today. I think that’s why we have bigger aspirations going down the line,” the former Donegal defender told DonegalNews.com.

“Going back even as far as 2021, we played Watty Grahams from Derry, they went on to win the Ulster Club Championship and eventually the All-Ireland.

“Then Errigal Ciaran won the Ulster Club Championship and lost the All-Ireland Final in the same year. We knew that we were never far away, but Donegal is a landmine and it’s incredibly difficult to get out of.

“It’s the same two teams that were there for the last couple of years and the same two winners. If we’d any ambition of winning it, we had to beat Naomh Conaill. To get them on the day and in the final with the last kick of the game, it’s a sweet way to win.”