Leo McGough has been reflecting on Darragh’s incredible service to Carlow
By Leo McGough
Come with me dear reader back in time, back to the early years of this 21st century, first stop Grange, the Gaelic football field, a September Sunday. Look at how determined the players are, how excited the spectators are, this is important, very important. The locals score a goal to hearty cheers as the visiting goalkeeper had saved shot after short previous to that, had dived bravely on loose ball too. The game ebbed and flowed, this was important, very important. The visitors are small in number, just the starting fifteen and one sub. They are small in stature too. Well they would be wouldn’t they?! They are all U-10!
The visitors? Ballon-Rathoe. The visitors goalkeeper? 9-year-old Darragh Foley. He had left home that morning an excited little boy, his team were going to Grange to play for a Cup and medals. He’d watched his father and uncles playing big matches with Kilbride, now it was his turn. He loved football. And here there were playing for a Cup and medals.
The goalkeeper, doubling as a full-back, makes another spectacular catch, goes on a solo, kicks a long ball down field, lets a roar of encouragment to the forward chasing the delivery, followed by a roar of delight when the forward drives the ball under the crossbar of the juvenile goalposts. The clincher. Ballon-Rathoe 6-8, Grange 2-11. A thriller.
The players and adults make their way to Grange Community Hall for refreshments, crisps and chocolate and minerals devoured by victor and vanquished alike. Nowadays, of course, it is not considered politically correct to have winners and losers at U-10 level but the natural competitive instincts in each of us was on show that afternoon, tears in the eyes of some of Mick Shannon’s home troops, tears in the eyes of a a few visitors too, tears of joy at the winning of their first medal.
The satisfaction wasn’t confined to the children, the mentors of both teams were delighted to provide the boys (and girls, for both teams fielded girls) with the excitement of a ‘big match’ and this Jim Gaynor Perpetual Cup final was a big match as big as any All-Ireland to the wee warriors. It was a happy Darragh Foley who returned home to Conaberry that evening, the medal a treasured possesion.
Fast forward now to last Sunday when the same Darragh Foley, grown from boy to man, a veteran of many battles announces his retirement from inter-county football. There was so much to admire about the beautifully crafted piece not least the fact that he chose to do so through his club’s social media platforms, recognising the importance of where it all began …
“For 15 years I lived out I have lived out my dream of playing senior football for Carlow GAA.
The time has come for me to step aside and let someone else live out that dream. I wish Shane Curran and the lads all the best for the future and I look forward to supporting the lads along the way.
To my former managers – Luke Dempsey, Anthony Rainbow, Turlough O’Brien and Niall Carew – thank you for giving me the chance to represent Carlow.
Turlough, I look back on your tenure with the most fondness as we danced with the big boys in the summers of ’17,18.
To my club Kilbride, thank you to all our members for all your support and for also instilling in me a never give in attitude.
To my mam and dad, thank you for giving me my love of GAA and for all the support you have given me throughout my career. You have both travelled the length and breadth of the country following Carlow.
To James, Lorraine, Conor, Jack and all my family, thank you for all you support. It meant the world to me.
To my wife Shauna, I owe you the most thanks for you have made the most sacrifices over the last 15 years. I look forward to having more time to spend you, Ísla and bump.
15 years with no medals to show for, but memories and friendships made that trump any silverware.
Carlow Gaels, thank you.”
And Carlow Gaels thank you Darragh, thanks for the wonderful service you have given the red, yellow and green. While the fact that he retires as Carlow’s highest scoring inter-county footballer of all-time is a fantastic achievement – and we will return to those figures – this scribe is about to reveal slightly different figures that underline more than anything else Darragh’s dedication to the Carlow cause …
The name Darragh Foley first appeared on a Carlow senior football team line-out on Saturday, March 27, 2010, a National Football League Division 4 Round 7 game against Leitrim in Dr Cullen Park. From that day to Carlow’s bowing out of this year’s Tailteann Cup in Parnell Park our county flagship football team played 174 competitive games. Darragh Foley played in 165. That’s a massive, massive 95% And but for the injury that forced him to miss the last two games of this years league and the first round of the Leinster SFC the percentage would have been even higher.
In a county that over the years has suffered severely from player apathy, where there has often been a lack of buy-in or a come-day, go-day attitude to giving one’s allegiance to the Carlow cause, that 95% speaks volumes for Darragh Foley’s dedication. But then he gave early indication of that unstinting resolve. Come back with me again dear reader, back in time, this time to Portlaoise where Carlow have just lost by four points to Wexford in the Leinster U-21 FC semi-final. As the team gathered in the post-match huddle on the O’Moore Park sod, captain and talisman Darragh Foley spoke with passion to his players about the need to stay strong, to keep working on their game and to ‘answer the call’ whenever the county came calling; mature words from a young man who has just seen his team beaten in a provincial semi-final.
Darragh didn’t just talk-the-talk, he walked-the-walk and answered the call again and again and again. Not only answered the call but served the cause extremely well, accumulating scores from play and frees at a startling rate which combined with his longevity meant that he surpassed Brendan Hayden’s long standing record as Carlow highest scoring inter-county footballer of all-time. However important and all as all those scores were Darragh’s work-rate and leadership was central to his county’s competitiveness and if a picture paints a thousand words then the pictures captured of Darragh after Carlow beat Louth and Kildare in the championship and more recently after the Tailteann Cup draw with Laois speak volumes of what these Carlow results meant to the Kilbride stalwart.
On hearing of Darragh’s retirement we did a deep-dive of his inter-county scoring record and it makes impressive reading, reading you can see below. Before that though we will invite you dear reader to another journey back in time, this time to 2003, the Carlow U-12 Division 2 final in Dr Cullen Park, probably, Darragh’s first ever appearance in the County Grounds.
Let the late Kathleen Mullins, the then Coiste na nOg PRO, herself a Kilbride woman, take up the story. In her match report in which her adopted Askea beat Kilbride, she writes of the early exchanges “Indeed Asca’s scoring tally during this period would have been greater but for Ballon full-back Darragh Foley who dominated in front of goal and brought off some quality saves.” Later Kathleen writes “Darragh Foley was superb throughout, doggedly defending his goal area. He was the launching pad for most of Ballon’s attacks.”
There were runners-up medals for that competition, they were presented at a function early the following year and when the guest of honour shook hands with Darragh Foley, presented him with his medal, it was a case of Carlow’s ‘most capped’ inter-county footballer and the boy who would come closest to matching that figure shaking hands, for that guest of honour was Johnny Nevin who made 177 appearances. Darragh himself has since presented medals to juveniles and who knows which one of them will emerge as the next Carlow legend?
What we do know, though, is that Darragh Foley’s love of the game was driven by the fact that he retained the same boyish enthusiasm as he had that U-10 day long ago in Grange, an enthusiasm that not only staved off possible ‘burn-out’ but obliterated the idea entirely, next game, next ball, next score.
Alas, on the inter-county stage there will no longer be a next game, a next ball, a next score but you can be sure the red and green of Kilbride will be inspired by the local legend who never forgot his roots or those who inspired him, none more so than his father Jim from whom he inherited the passion that fuelled a magnificent career.
DARRAGH BY NUMBERS
Appearances: 165
Scored: 12-433 (469)
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Scored from play: 12-126 (162)
Scored from frees: 0-301 (301)
Scored from marks: 0-6 (6)
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Scored in 142/165, 86%
Scored from play in 93/165, 56%
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SFC: 2-63 (69) in 33
Play 2-21, Frees: 0-42
NFL: 4-246 (258) in 93
Play: 4-78, Frees: 0-164, Marks 0-4
O’Byrne Cup: 6-70 (88) in 29
Play: 6-20, Frees: 0-48, Marks 0-2 mark
Tailteann Cup 0-54 (54) in 10
Play 0-7; Frees 0-47
