ON SATURDAY, IRELAND out-half Sam Prendergast pocketed the Six Nations Rising Player award after a spring in which the national team’s hopes were placed in his rookie hands.
Back in the Allianz Hurling League, another traditional powerhouse has thrown their lot in with a greenhorn who has wrapped up the honour as ‘Find of the League’ with a round to play.
Darragh McCarthy, still a couple of years Prendergast’s junior, has only played 350 minutes of inter-county hurling and is already nailed-on as Tipperary’s marquee forward heading into a league final.
And yet, like Prendergast, the teenager’s arrival was well-telegraphed after a stellar 18 months for school, club, county, and college.
Nonetheless, the pace of the Toomavara hotshot’s emergence has been remarkably rapid. He leads the Division 1A scoring charts by 12 points from the nearest contender, having been immediately handed the Premier free-taking duties ahead of a series of experienced county campaigners.
Those placed balls underwrote his 1-6 debut tally against Galway, 1-7 against Wexford the following week, and 0-9 against Limerick seven days later, where he added an assist for Seán Kenneally’s wondergoal.
But it was against Cork that he began to show the true scope of his potential. He tormented Ger Millerick for the opening 35 minutes to rack up 0-5 from play as part of a 10-point haul. Not that the corner-back did too much wrong, either; he simply couldn’t shake McCarthy’s radar regardless of the pressure on the shot.
When McCarthy landed his eighth point while boxed in and falling on the New Stand sideline, it unleashed a major roar from the crowd that carried the team down the tunnel for half-time. Such moments are deepening the bonds as they row in behind this new wave of Tipp talent.
McCarthy made it back-to-back man-of-the-match awards against Kilkenny, where he landed 12 points and created a goal for fellow teenager Oisín O’Donoghue.
In all, his 2-44 total averages out at 10 points per game.
Whether he continues his ever-present streak against Clare or is rested for a potential run-out for the Tipp U20s against Limerick on Tuesday, McCarthy will be among the first names on the teamsheet come Championship.
It wasn’t always that way coming up through the grades. When Tipp won the All-Ireland during McCarthy’s final year of minor in 2022, he was an impact sub, held in reserve to see out games. He got one start for the U20s the following term.
In his first year at senior, McCarthy scored 2-35 in five games for Toomevara and was named the North Tipperary Hurler of the Year. He was the youngest recipient of the award since goalkeeper Ken Hogan in 1980.
Harty Cup level is where McCarthy made waves beyond the county bounds. He was handed the captaincy and wore the number nine jersey as he lifted Nenagh CBS to their first-ever Harty crown, scoring 1-50 in five games.
He tagged on 2-43 for the U20s last year as his outrageous over-the-shoulder winning point to dethrone Cork in the Munster final stole the show. Equally significant was the rob he pulled off to create O’Donoghue’s goal; the same combination that struck in Nowlan Park a fortnight ago.
“I don’t know how he hit it over the bar but he did,” said manager Brendan Cummins in the aftermath. “That bit of genius deserved to split the teams in the finish.
“He is just very strong and low built to the ground. In fairness to Darragh and Oisín, when the ball went in one-on-one, it stuck. That was the key.”
His relentless run extended to leading Toome to a first Tipperary SHC final in 16 years, where they were only denied by Loughmore-Castleiney. A man-of-the-match display in an All-Ireland Freshers final for UL followed this spring.
Thrown into the inter-county deep end, his scoring tallies from those schools and club days haven’t declined in the slightest, powered by his meticulous free-taking.
“Darragh McCarthy is very young but he’s a capable player,” said Cahill in February.
“That’s what you can’t beat, giving players of that age and that potential those opportunities.
“It mightn’t be seen from the stands as anything major now but I guarantee you down the road it’s big because it allows that player to really believe in himself.
“And we’re on the right track with the majority of these younger fellas that are coming through.”
The Tipp boss is asking his players to learn on the job and McCarthy keeps showing all the right signs.
That’ll be uploaded on pornhub
All bets are off for goal of the season.
That one beats all the other in your own half goals…
Holy moly!!!
Take a bow son. Great goal.
Someone asked me if Adam would score today. I told them it would be a long shot.
As it turns out I was completely right.
aaaah anyone but charlie adam!great strike though
That was like finding a hidden can of beer:)
on a good friday
‘Ave it’
I’d break a keepers hole with a kick for being that far off his line. Ridiculous.
Not often the referee is in the other half of the Football Pitch when a goal is scored.
Super Skills this one.
Great goal by Adam bets off 4 goal of the year any criticism of it is a load of bullsh t
Let’s see your list.
I always think those really long range goals are a little over-rated. If the goal isn’t protected by the goalkeeper and a top class professional player spots that from afar, they’ve got a fair chance of hitting it on target, then it’s just a case of distance and speed; again with no keeper in the goal it makes the task a lot easier to pull off. Adam’s goal was outstanding don’t get me wrong, but as I say in terms of sheer footballing brilliance, goals similar to that type are a few notches down my list.
You’re obviously not a footballer if you don’t understand how difficult that is to do.
I have played the game to a decent standard my whole life, come down to Goals in Elmer’s End on a Tuesday night or Pimlico Academy of a Friday in London any time for a kickabout….but that’s hardly the point. Technically, all Adam did was line the ball up from a fairly central position and launch it, he had no keeper to beat so once he was on target he was 7/8ths of the way there.
The speed he generated from what was pretty much a snapshot was lethal, don’t get me wrong it was an outstanding goal. But there are a lot more technically difficult goals out there, in my opinion. Going past a man or two and shaping one in the top corner from 20-30 yards, certain free kicks, even certain headers are incredibly difficult to perform.
I probably deserve the red thumbs, it was a great and memorable goal, but I stand by my opinion.
That’s a fair point. Suarez scored a header from 20 metres for Liverpool in a hat-trick around Sept/October 2014 which was probably as difficult Adam’s goal today but that goal never got a mention in goal of the month.
Totally agree with ya Kevin. Hit the target from the centre circle, not that hard. Well done on looking up and spotting the keeper leaving him an empty net. A little bit overhyped I think.
He’s not that kind words player..