While Donegal will have far bigger fish to fry over the coming months, Jim McGuinness would have been pleased to see his team kick off 2026 by winning the Dr McKenna Cup over the weekend.

Donegal would overcome Monaghan in Sunday’s final, having also beaten Antrim and Derry in recent weeks. Winning the competition is a nice bonus, with the county having also blooded some promising young players during that run.

They will now prepare for a league opener in Croke Park against Dublin this weekend.

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Jim McGuinness Had Intriguing Answer On Lasting Impact Of Donegal All-Ireland Loss

2026 is already looking like a big year for Donegal, with the county hoping to bounce back from a heartbreaking All-Ireland final loss to Kerry last season.

That game could end up having a big impact on their game plan moving forward, with Jack O’Connor’s side having exploited some apparent weaknesses in their rearguard last July.

Speaking to Andy Watters of the Irish News after the win over Monaghan, Jim McGuinness gave an intriguing response when asked if he had gotten over the loss to Kerry yet.

How long have you got? Listen, it’s not an easy one to lose, that’s for sure.

There’s a lot of soul searching that goes on but that’s the great thing about football, there’s always another season coming down the track as well.

Once you make peace with a couple of things, you’ve got to dust yourself down and you’ve got to go again…

We’re not looking backwards now, we’re looking forward and there’s eight, nine or 10 teams there that will fancy their chances next year.

We believe we’re one of those teams but it’s very, very difficult to get back to that level.

Donegal will no doubt be among the All-Ireland favourites once again in 2026, having been many people’s favourites to win the competition for much of last season.

A good league campaign would put them in a strong position come championship time, with McGuinness also aiming to win a third successive Ulster title for the first time in the county’s history.

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