THE PE TEACHER couldn’t understand why one of his students was looking for a rugby ball.
A hurler who had captained the Kilkenny minors to an All-Ireland title in 2014 would have little use for such equipment. One would think, at least.
He was a footballer too, and had been representing their school in Good Counsel of New Ross with distinction. In first year, he was the full-back on a team that won an U14 Leinster title. And as a Leaving Cert student, he was lording the skies as a midfielder on a team that captured a Leinster Colleges A crown. But that couldn’t explain where the request for the Gilbert ball was coming from.
And yet, that’s exactly what a young Darragh Joyce was looking for after class one day. But then wind of an opportunity to go and play in the AFL came through. Everyone knew he was a potential recruit on their radar, thanks in part to the profile he had built on the back of his underage All-Ireland success with Kilkenny. The interest in his progress was heightened by the fact that he was the younger brother of Kieran Joyce, a four-time All-Ireland winner with the Cats.
A similar road lay ahead for the younger of the Joyce siblings. But the promise of a life in a new sport, in a new world, tempted him to look towards a different path. His PE teacher, and football mentor, Mr Leigh O’Brien knew Joyce would flourish in whatever direction he chose.
That diversion has brought Joyce to an AFL Grand Final this weekend with the Brisbane Lions. Now, the need for a rugby ball made sense.
“The word had spread that they were running these camps in Dublin where they were inviting players up” O’Brien recalls. “He was quite anxious himself about whether he would or wouldn’t go.
“There was a lot of talk about him but in Counsel circles, we really wouldn’t have been too surprised because he was a fantastic player. He had it all: the physicality, the size, the skill, everything. He was a real leader on the pitch as well.”
The Joyces hail from the Rower-Inistioge club in south Kilkenny where football is not a hot ticket. Hurling is the only show in town. But Good Counsel has seen “numerous” Kilkenny footballers pass through their teams, according to O’Brien.
In a previous interview with The 42, Joyce said that football in secondary school was “something to keep me fit during the winter”. But in 2015, that winter sport was exposing him to new avenues. AFL scouts were coming to watch him play in a Leinster Colleges final against Edenderry’s St Mary’s. The Offaly outfit were point ahead at half-time and added two early points after the resumption to give them the advantage.
But then Joyce took command at midfield, and Good Counsel kicked the next four points to ultimately pave the way towards a first senior provincial title in 16 years. It was quite a show for the AFL scouts to witness, and the St Kilda club were quick to add him to their books.
“It was an excellent game of football,” says O’Brien looking back.
There was very little between the teams and the Leinster Colleges finals were brilliant to be involved in. He gave an exhibition in the second half. The amount of ball he won and drove forward with. Darragh was monumental in everything that happened in the second half.
“His ball-winning skills were massive. When he carried the ball, he carried it with real pace. He ran at them in the second half every time. He stood up to it and was outstanding. He had a major say in that game swaying in Good Counsel’s favour that day.”
O’Brien had been part of the senior side’s management team the year before, but was in attendance that day as a fan. Joyce was part of that squad too, although he was a bit below the typical age bracket.
“He always played up [a grade] because he was well capable of playing with that team. It was outside his age group but he was outstanding.”
Joyce knew what he was walking away from when he boarded a plane to Melbourne for his AFL adventure. Hurling for Kilkenny is an honour that few could turn down. He thrived for his club too, scoring 0-10 to bring Rower-Inistioge to within three points of a first senior county final in 39 years.
Joyce has spoken before about the role Eddie Brennan played in helping decide what to do with his dilemma, saying that Brennan admitted to some regret over not travelling more in his youth.
O’Brien spoke to Joyce about his plans too, and could sense a strong desire to become a professional athlete.
“I can remember a conversation I had with him and he loved the idea of being a professional athlete,” O’Brien says.
“He had seen Kieran’s inter-county career being very rewarding and he had a lot of success. But Darragh was a real athlete and I’d say Eddie was the [Kilkenny] U21 manager at the time, and that word from him was probably the one thing that pushed Darragh to do it because he really wanted to taste that professionalism to see if he could make it.
“That was probably the dart he needed. He was going to follow in Kieran’s footsteps in relation to Kilkenny hurling. He was going to make it because he was an outstanding hurler. The big thing was the lure of Australia and professional sport. He was always destined to try something like that.”
Joyce’s name is filling the hallways of the Good Counsel hallways again this week ahead of the AFL Grand Final between the Brisbane Lions and the Sydney Swans tomorrow morning. Joyce joined the Lions after being delisted by St Kilda in 2022. Should the latter prevail, there will be three Irish representatives celebrating a Premiership title. Tyrone’s Conor McKenna is named to start while Joyce is listed as one of their emergency players. James Madden from Dublin is also on the Brisbane books.
O’Brien is hopeful that Joyce will be in the winner’s circle tomorrow and will be grateful of the role Good Counsel played in his journey to this point.
“Look it, we won’t be taking any credit for it. Certainly, from a football point of view, he’s coming from an area where it wouldn’t be a stronghold for football. We’ve had numerous Kilkenny lads represent our school but Colleges A football is excellent and they are probably some of the best football matches during the year. Having played at that level for the school certainly would have helped Darragh’s skillset but I don’t think we can take any credit for where he ended up today.
“It’s nice for us to be part of that journey. We’ll be so proud to say he’s one of ours if he ends up a winner’s medal on Saturday morning. It would be a fantastic achievement for him.”
