Mullin and McDonald in training with Mayo

One is already gone, the other is set to follow, but the influence of Oisin Mullin and Kobe McDonald on the Mayo senior football squad has been profound in Andy Moran’s initial weeks in charge of the team.

The exciting news for Mayo supporters is that there seems every likelihood they will get to see McDonald wearing the Green and Red prior to his departure to the Australian Football League at the end of summer 2026. Whether they ever again get to see Mullin caress the O’Neill’s around MacHale Park or Croke Park is a different story altogether but if there was even a slither of an opportunity, you get the impression Andy Moran would die trying to make it happen.

The Kilmaine native played in – and was a goal-scorer – in this year’s Grand Final where his club Geelong Cats were beaten by Brisbane Lions. Shortly afterwards he was back home in Mayo having a coffee with the newly appointed Mayo boss and his sidekick Colm Boyle.

“We were going to half ask him if he wanted to come in and do a bit of gym work with us, a bit of training, but he asked us first, if we’d mind if he joined for a couple of months, until the end of December to keep himself in shape,” Andy Moran explained last week.

“He’s an unbelievable character; his professional attitude, the way he practices, the way he trains, the way he attacks the ball, I just think with all these young guys that we have – sixteen under the age of 22 – to have the opportunity to watch him play and train, and how he carries himself, it was just too good to turn down.” 

Mullin had spent five weeks training with the Mayo players in the gym and then when the team were permitted to return to collective training on the pitch in November, he did that too. Moran even brought the 2020 All Star to Portugal for the Mayo team’s training camp to Portugal at the beginning of this month.

“We asked the county board would this be okay, he asked Geelong, and they all said okay, we got the green light.

“He was delighted because he got a bit of training in and we were delighted because the boys could learn and develop off him.” 

This time next year it’s expected that Kobe McDonald will be several months into a new career Down Under after the recent announcement by Melbourne-based St Kilda that they had secured the services of the Crossmolina teenager on a Rookies contract. What further impact he’ll have had on the GAA landscape by then is anyone’s guess, but according to Andy Moran both he and U20 manager Keith Higgins expect to avail of the secondary school student’s talents in 2026.

“Firstly, I’m blown away by the kid. He’s such a great person. He only turned 18 on Monday but he’s such a good person around the place. He’s doing a bit of training with us,” revealed the senior boss.

So will Moran play him?

“We’ll wait and see. I don’t like putting definites on anything. It’s Leaving Cert year, a big year for him, and obviously St Kilda at the end of the year. We’ll give him every opportunity but let’s just play it as we see it. We would love to have him involved. I’m sure Keith would love to have him involved with the under-20s.” 

The player drain to Australia doesn’t sit well with many GAA fans, particularly in Mayo where the ladies team has been more severely impacted, but Andy Moran insists that the county should still be particularly proud of what Oisin Mullin and potentially Kobe McDonald have achieved.

“Playing the Grand Final in Australia, playing a professional sport… we as a county developed [Oisin], Kilmaine as a club, and for him to go off and do that is brilliant.

“I think we should be very proud of these guys. I was part of the Ballaghaderreen club when Pearse and Cian (Hanley) went. It’s difficult for the club but what an exciting opportunity.

“For us, it’s hard to take because he’s one of our own but I think deep down in every Ballaghaderreen person, we were always proud of Pearse and Cian, and I think we should be the same of Kobe.”

See Tuesday's Western People for full interview with Andy Moran.