Darragh to receive special honour at Mayo Sports Stars Awards
Darragh Beirne had a stunning breakout season for the Mayo senior football team. Picture: INPHO/Tom Maher
Few outside of Mayo knew much about Darragh Beirne this time last year.
Those in the county who had seen him at underage knew there was a special talent there, but hardly anyone could have envisaged the extraordinary season he would enjoy in 2026.
By the year’s end Darragh Beirne was the national Young Footballer of the Year, an All-Star and, most importantly of all, an All-Ireland champion.
The confidence that Darragh showed at the highest level this year was a joy to behold.
His wand of a left foot produced some terrific scores for Mayo in 2026. He was able to score a few with his right, too!
His composure when in on goal marked him out as a special talent, from the League opener against Galway to his famous second-half goal in the All-Ireland final.
But he showed so much more on that famous day too. His exceptional free from the right corner in the first-half underlined the importance of a left-footed free-taker while his ability to glide through the Kerry defence for the opening point of the second-half showed the balance and composure that are becoming his trademark. And his work-rate off the ball, in pressing Kerry high up the field, was vital in Mayo taking control of the game.
He was Man of the Match in the quarter-final win over Cork and scored 5-27 across league and championship.
In his debut season, he became only the third Mayo player to win an All-Star as a teenager, joining his teammate Kobe McDonald and Kevin O’Neill, who achieved the feat 33 years earlier.
He was selected by his peers as Young Footballer of the Year in an incredibly competitive field with fellow All-Stars McDonald and Louth’s Dara McDonnell.
He has followed his father, Kevin, into the green and red and there is little doubt that Darragh Beirne is a name we will be hearing much more of in the years ahead.
