Fermanagh's Joanne Doonan hails 'massive' year after All-Ireland junior success

While it isn't the main reason she found herself back on home soil, Joanne Doonan is glad she decided to make a return to the Fermanagh fold this year following an extended stint in the southern hemisphere.

Having previously lined out for Carlton during an AFL Women’s season that was ultimately not finished due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Doonan moved back to Australia in early 2022 after she was snapped up by Essendon.

Yet in addition to being delisted by Essendon at the end of their 2023 campaign in the AFLW, personal circumstances led to Doonan and her partner James McMahon (who has also played football for Fermanagh) returning to the Erne County.

Despite not having played for Fermanagh since their TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate relegation play-off defeat to Longford on 28 August 2021, Doonan subsequently resumed her inter-county career in a Division 4 clash with Wicklow in Donagh on 28 January of this year. Although the league campaign ended in a semi-final reversal to Carlow, Doonan had a pivotal role at centre-half-forward when the Erne women claimed an All-Ireland junior title at the expense of Louth in Croke Park earlier this month.

"It’s different circumstances that we ended up cutting our time in Australia short. My mother-in-law, we found out she was sick, so we ended up coming home. It’s probably one of those things, she ended up passing away earlier in this year and that is why I missed the Ulster final," Doonan explained.

"Sometimes you just look at football and whenever I came home it was definitely an outlet. Something that is consistent in your life and really positive for you in your life. I think I definitely had nearly a perspective shift in that it really is an honour.

"I think in a weird way it has