Raisin Friel sometimes winces at the posters of herself staring down at her around the Lidl store she manages in Donegal town.
The Termon woman, affectionately known as ‘Yankee’, has been a vital cog for the Donegal ladies in recent years and is ready for another big year in the green and gold.
Friel scored a goal in last year’s 4-11 to 0-15 Ulster final win over Monaghan and this Sunday Donegal begin their 2018 campaign with a home fixture against defending All-Ireland champions Dublin at O’Donnell Park (2pm).
Lidl sponsor the Ladies Leagues and Friel is store manager of the Donegal town branch.
“Lidl put a massive amount of effort into what they’re doing,” Friel said at Lidl headquarters for the launch of the 2018 Leagues.
“It’s wonderful. I realise what happens out on the pitch and in store so I can see what it’s doing for us as a company. Lidl have recognised that women’s sports is vital. It’s a massively effective thing to be involved in.”
Donegal are under new management in the form of Maxi Curran and Damian Devaney for 2018 and Friel can’t wait to get going.
She said: “It’ll give us a test of where we are. We have a lot of new faces and it’ll be good to break the ice with the best in the country. We’ll give it a good rattle anyway.”
Watch her full interview with Jerome Quinn below …
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