INTERVIEW: Nenagh captain McCarthy's stock on the rise as the Toome man aims for history

Darragh McCarthy is a man on the lips of Tipperary folk across the county as he continues his meteoric rise into the consciousness of GAA supporters across the Premier after a simply magnificent twelve months on the pitch.

The Toomevara man is coming close to Dreamland with his latest exploits taking his school to the brink of a very first Harty Cup title, but it was his earlier displays in the green and gold of his club that signaled his ability to everyone.

He came into the Toomevara team and became the spearhead of the attack and gave some incredible performances, considering it was his first year at the adult level, and in his five games in the county championship, he hit an incredible 2-35 as the Greyhounds went all the way to the semi-finals before losing out to the eventual champions, Kiladangan.

Likewise, at U19 level for his club, he hit 0-9 from play in the North Final victory against Ballina before and so much was his quality all year, that he earned himself a call from Liam Cahill to link up with the Tipperary senior squad. The stuff of dreams for the young man.

Nenagh CBS are grateful that his form has not waned in the slightest over the course of the winter, and if anything, it has continued to improve and has had a key role in Nenagh’s progression to a first final in 12 years.

In a youthful team that is littered with young quality from the Dean Ryan Cup-winning team, McCarthy has been the main score-getter and has so far amassed a total of 1-43 to his name, and his experience and ability is integral to this Nenagh team going into this game.

Despite all that, he doesn’t carry himself like a lad who is getting buried in the pressure and expectation that he has on his shoulders these days, and despite the drama and late craziness of the semi-final win over Charleville CBS - which saw a late free ruled out wrongly - he doesn’t seem fazed by what is to come.

“Yeah, it definitely was (a point),” McCarthy said when asked whether the ball was inside the post from that late free in the semi-final in Cappamore two weekends ago.

“It was a nervy finish to the game but we were lucky to come out on the right side of it in the end.”
Success has been in plentiful supply at the North Tipperary school this term, with McCarthy on the sideline as the U17 team won a first-ever Dean Ryan Cup late in 2023 and the dramatic fashion of the semi-final win was nearly akin to winning the final and the Nenagh CBS Harty Cup captain couldn’t believe the supporter's reactions at the final whistle and he was delighted to keep the feel-good atmosphere going in the school.

“The whole school was absolutely buzzing,” McCarthy said about the aftermath of the semi-final win.

“And that was the main thing from the win, keeping everybody who came to support us happy for another while!” he chuckled.
McCarthy is a young man of few words and clearly, he prefers to do his talking on the pitch with his teacher and selector Jack Peters heaping praise on the Toomevara hurler, saying, “. It’s his work rate, his drive, and his determination that really stands out.”

“He has the quality and that’s apparent to most people, but he has other qualities in that he is able to win his own ball, he does the basics so well and the lads look up to him. That’s the most important thing,” Peters lauded.

A long list of very good Nenagh CBS teams have been to Harty Cup Final day and failed to deliver to their best and although history beckons for McCarthy and his school, he isn’t getting carried away with the furore around the game and he said he and his teammates are focused on the task at hand.

“We won’t be looking too deeply into that now, to be honest.”

“As far as we are concerned, all it is is another game and another opportunity for us to kick on and play well again. What we will be looking for is a performance from everyone on the day.

“We have been consistent enough, I suppose. That’s all we’ll be looking for again. There’s no point getting too carried away because it’s a big final, we know that but at the same time, we know what we’re capable of so we just have to go out and do our best.

“That (Dean Ryan Cup win) gave everyone a huge boost and gave us a kick-on and they showed us that anything is possible and a never-say-die attitude. And that’s what we’re trying to build our game around and they showed it throughout that game so fair play to them. It was unreal.

Cusack Park, Ennis is where history will be made for better or worse for McCarthy and his Nenagh CBS teammates, and despite it almost being a home game of sorts for Ardscoil Rís, he echoed his management team’s universal response to the question and is bullish and unperturbed about where the game has been fixed for, with just 60 or so minutes between them and a very first for the school at the fifth attempt.

“It was a strange one alright with the Tipp game being on around the same time, so a lot of supporters won’t be able to get to both.

“But we don’t mind where it’s on, to be honest. Where else would you want to be but in a position like that? It is a big thing and looking at it right now it is huge to possibly be the first team to do it,” he finished.