MAYO MANAGER ANDY Moran believes that Kobe McDonald is already hitting the standard required to play senior inter-county as the teen sensation continues his preparations for his move to the AFL.
McDonald signed a rookie deal with Melbourne-based outfit St Kilda in November and will head Down Under after finishing his Leaving Cert in 2026. The Crossmolina star, who is a son of Mayo legend Ciarán McDonald, was heavily linked with a switch to the AFL and will be a huge loss in Mayo as he is a talent on the rise.
Moran is in just his first season as manager of the Mayo seniors but can see a bright future for McDonald at that level when that chapter of his career can begin.
“He fits right into the team. He does some magic things at training, which is great to see. We’re just excited for him to be part of the squad. He’s like every other player when he’s available for selection. We deem that to be the right time, hopefully, we get him up on the pitch.”
Kobe McDonald in action for the Mayo minors in 2024. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
Elaborating on this topic, Moran feels GAA teams are slow to integrate young players to senior inter-county football, and that the hesitation is restricting their access to games.
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“I’ve seen it in my own time with Conor Mortimer, Alan Dillon, Pearce Hanley, Aidan O’Shea, all these guys. These guys all played straight after the year of minors. So, I can’t see why you have to wait so long now in inter-county senior football if guys are ready to go.
“We’ve all these development squads in GAA from U14s. And yet it takes us until 21, 22 to get playing senior inter-county football. I find that just fascinating.
“I think over the last couple of years, particularly since Covid, young lads aren’t playing enough football. We’re trying to stop them from playing football. I think it’s criminal, to be honest with you. You see professional soccer players able to play 60 games a season. We’re giving out when fellas play 23, 24 games a season. I just can’t see the logic behind it, if I’m being honest.”
Mayo opened their FBD League over the weekend with a win over Sligo but the start of their Division 1 campaign will quickly come into view when they travel to Pearse Stadium to take on Galway at the end of the month.
When asked if McDonald will be considered for selection during the National League, Moran replied:
“Kobe is a different story because he’s doing the Leaving. We’ve to treat that and playing school’s football so it’s a completely different thing for Gortnor Abbey, I know they’re chasing big stuff as well there in school. He’s a different completely prospect but the other boys should all be looking to play National League minutes absolutely.”
Moran also discussed his team’s recent trip to Portugal for a training camp which McDonald and fellow AFL recruit Oisín Mullin attended. Mullin kicked a goal for the Geelong Cats in the Grand Final last September as they lost out to the Brisbane Lions.
“Oisín was brilliant,” says Moran. “He went back to Geelong maybe three days ago but he trained with us right up to the end. I think the biggest thing coming out of Australia when the lads come home is the cultural aspect it brings to the group and Oisín was brilliant in terms of getting connection between the group, being humble enough to do little things around the place.
“Younger fellas just catch on to that. As I always say, they’ll always catch your bad habits. If you do the good habit good enough, they’ll catch that as well.”
Mayo's Cillian O'Connor. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
The return of Mayo stalwarts Cillian O’Connor, Rob Hennelly, James Carr and Michael Plunkett provides a timely boost for Mayo in 2026. Goalkeeper Hennelly retired from inter-county football in 2024 while O’Connor, Carr and Plunkett opted out of the panel last season.
Moran explained that Hennelly is based in Dublin and that managing his commute is working well at the moment.
“I think when you’ve played at county football, the will is always there to come back but then everything else has to line up for it. Robbie and his wife Orla have been very good and we’ve opened up a pathway amongst the three of us to make that work.
“They obviously have a little boy at home in Dublin which is not ideal but I think we’re doing quite well. What I would say with a caveat to that is when February kicks off then the season really kicks off so we won’t get a true reflection until we get to that point but at the minute it’s working out really well. We’re very thankful for Robbie to come back and I think he was very grateful for the opportunity but it’s important that we work together and move forward to make that work.”
Moran comes into the Mayo job having coached under Gabriel Bannigan as Monaghan reached the All-Ireland quarter-final last year. The Ballaghaderreen man, who also worked with Cavan’s Mickey Graham during his time at Leitrim, enjoys learning from Ulster mentors and has incorporated that into his Mayo backroom team by recruiting Paddy Tally and Paul Durcan.
A native of Tyrone, Tally was in charge of the Derry footballers last season, while Durcan was an All-Ireland winner with Donegal in 2012.
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“I always like having that Ulster element with me, I did it with Mickey Graham in Leitrim. Obviously I was in Monaghan last year, I just think they look at the game a tiny bit different than us in terms of how to view certain players, their characteristics and what they’re looking at. I think that’s very important because if you have the group taken around the place I don’t think it’s a good thing.”
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Mayo manager Andy Moran was speaking at the launch of the FBD Connacht League
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AFL-bound Kobe McDonald doing 'some magic things' at Mayo training - Moran
MAYO MANAGER ANDY Moran believes that Kobe McDonald is already hitting the standard required to play senior inter-county as the teen sensation continues his preparations for his move to the AFL.
McDonald signed a rookie deal with Melbourne-based outfit St Kilda in November and will head Down Under after finishing his Leaving Cert in 2026. The Crossmolina star, who is a son of Mayo legend Ciarán McDonald, was heavily linked with a switch to the AFL and will be a huge loss in Mayo as he is a talent on the rise.
Moran is in just his first season as manager of the Mayo seniors but can see a bright future for McDonald at that level when that chapter of his career can begin.
“He fits right into the team. He does some magic things at training, which is great to see. We’re just excited for him to be part of the squad. He’s like every other player when he’s available for selection. We deem that to be the right time, hopefully, we get him up on the pitch.”
Elaborating on this topic, Moran feels GAA teams are slow to integrate young players to senior inter-county football, and that the hesitation is restricting their access to games.
“I’ve seen it in my own time with Conor Mortimer, Alan Dillon, Pearce Hanley, Aidan O’Shea, all these guys. These guys all played straight after the year of minors. So, I can’t see why you have to wait so long now in inter-county senior football if guys are ready to go.
“We’ve all these development squads in GAA from U14s. And yet it takes us until 21, 22 to get playing senior inter-county football. I find that just fascinating.
“I think over the last couple of years, particularly since Covid, young lads aren’t playing enough football. We’re trying to stop them from playing football. I think it’s criminal, to be honest with you. You see professional soccer players able to play 60 games a season. We’re giving out when fellas play 23, 24 games a season. I just can’t see the logic behind it, if I’m being honest.”
Mayo opened their FBD League over the weekend with a win over Sligo but the start of their Division 1 campaign will quickly come into view when they travel to Pearse Stadium to take on Galway at the end of the month.
When asked if McDonald will be considered for selection during the National League, Moran replied:
“Kobe is a different story because he’s doing the Leaving. We’ve to treat that and playing school’s football so it’s a completely different thing for Gortnor Abbey, I know they’re chasing big stuff as well there in school. He’s a different completely prospect but the other boys should all be looking to play National League minutes absolutely.”
Moran also discussed his team’s recent trip to Portugal for a training camp which McDonald and fellow AFL recruit Oisín Mullin attended. Mullin kicked a goal for the Geelong Cats in the Grand Final last September as they lost out to the Brisbane Lions.
“Oisín was brilliant,” says Moran. “He went back to Geelong maybe three days ago but he trained with us right up to the end. I think the biggest thing coming out of Australia when the lads come home is the cultural aspect it brings to the group and Oisín was brilliant in terms of getting connection between the group, being humble enough to do little things around the place.
“Younger fellas just catch on to that. As I always say, they’ll always catch your bad habits. If you do the good habit good enough, they’ll catch that as well.”
The return of Mayo stalwarts Cillian O’Connor, Rob Hennelly, James Carr and Michael Plunkett provides a timely boost for Mayo in 2026. Goalkeeper Hennelly retired from inter-county football in 2024 while O’Connor, Carr and Plunkett opted out of the panel last season.
Moran explained that Hennelly is based in Dublin and that managing his commute is working well at the moment.
“I think when you’ve played at county football, the will is always there to come back but then everything else has to line up for it. Robbie and his wife Orla have been very good and we’ve opened up a pathway amongst the three of us to make that work.
“They obviously have a little boy at home in Dublin which is not ideal but I think we’re doing quite well. What I would say with a caveat to that is when February kicks off then the season really kicks off so we won’t get a true reflection until we get to that point but at the minute it’s working out really well. We’re very thankful for Robbie to come back and I think he was very grateful for the opportunity but it’s important that we work together and move forward to make that work.”
Moran comes into the Mayo job having coached under Gabriel Bannigan as Monaghan reached the All-Ireland quarter-final last year. The Ballaghaderreen man, who also worked with Cavan’s Mickey Graham during his time at Leitrim, enjoys learning from Ulster mentors and has incorporated that into his Mayo backroom team by recruiting Paddy Tally and Paul Durcan.
A native of Tyrone, Tally was in charge of the Derry footballers last season, while Durcan was an All-Ireland winner with Donegal in 2012.
“I always like having that Ulster element with me, I did it with Mickey Graham in Leitrim. Obviously I was in Monaghan last year, I just think they look at the game a tiny bit different than us in terms of how to view certain players, their characteristics and what they’re looking at. I think that’s very important because if you have the group taken around the place I don’t think it’s a good thing.”
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Mayo manager Andy Moran was speaking at the launch of the FBD Connacht League
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Andy Moran Gaelic Football Kobe McDonald Mayo GAA Oisín Mullin Rising Star