Kobe McDonald, fresh from being one of the key engineers in securing Sam Maguire for the people of Mayo after a torturous wait of three-quarters of a century, made a different debut in Dublin on a Sunday night when everyone associated with his county was in a celebratory frenzy.
“We went to Coppers, we said we’d do the experience. My first time in Coppers, yeah.”
When he woke this Monday morning, the Crossmolina teenager was still attempting to process the significance of the Sunday afternoon before.
Sitting down in the foyer of the Radisson Blu Hotel on Golden Lane, McDonald’s thoughts rolled from his mind ahead of the afternoon train journey back to Castlebar, and the giddy prospect of joyous times ahead all around his county.
“To be honest, I thought it would sink in this morning. I thought I’d realise what we’ve done, but I still find myself pinching myself, still find myself looking around (at) the Mayo supporters, the old people, my family, my friends, teammates.
“Me, (Eoin) McGreal and (Darragh) Beirne probably don’t understand the magnitude of what we’ve done. We’ve never been here before, it’s that unknown.
“Aidan O’Shea, Cillian O’Connor, Paddy Durcan, these boys were heroes for me when I was growing up. To be able to share the dressing room, to now share this moment with them is very surreal.
“One day, hopefully in the future I will realise what we’ve accomplished.”
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In that post-match chaos on the pitch as Mayo players tried to figure out how to act on this newfound day of celebration, Kobe gravitated towards the reassuring presence of his older brother Jordan Flynn.
“It was a special moment, myself and my brother got our two partners on the pitch and to sit in the middle of Croke Park with Sam Maguire in the middle of the four of us.
Kobe McDonald, Leah Maheady, Jordan Flynn and Jessie Brown pictured with the Sam Maguire Cup. Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
“Jordo actually got me afterwards, and he said he had a dream that he was on a particular side (lifting the trophy), so he had to go on that side. So he pulled rank there. I could never in my wildest dreams imagine climbing the Hogan with him, and looking out to a sea of green and red, is an image I’ll never forget.
“I suppose we were just kind of computing that us two as brothers after winning Sam Maguire for Mayo after 75 long years.”
Mayo's Jordan Flynn and Kobe McDonald celebrate after the match. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
He has provided the soundtrack of the football summer, Kobe the breakout star as the Crossmolina school kid bursting onto the senior football stage. Clamour on that scale can be unnerving, the provision of a support network is essential.
“I try my best to probably block it all out, but like I’m not a robot. Of course I hear bits of it, but the only word I can describe the year is a whirlwind. I feel like I blinked and it was all over. The people I have at home have been so good to me with that outside noise keeping me grounded, keeping me understanding what the task is.”
When your father is Ciaran McDonald, one of the most charismatic and scrutinised footballers, and your older brother Jordan is alongside you in attack, you don’t have to look far for advice.
“Himself and Jordan have been there before. He does give me them bits to help me, probably more so with the outside noise. He was probably a very talked about GAA player too so he helps me out with that the most.”
Kobe recalled that moment last year when Andy Moran first him to Mayo’s flagship side.
“He spoke to my Dad first because I was only 17 at the time, and so he couldn’t ring me. When the opportunity came about, I definitely couldn’t say no. I was all in from the beginning.
“There’s only one answer, that’s for sure. Andy’s been, he’s one of the greats of the game, and to get a phone call from him and to think that you’re good enough is a special moment for me.”
He successfully juggled education responsibilities with sporting commitments. The Leaving Cert and the All-Ireland became the twin sporting tasks.
“I got one day off for Maths (exams), so I was under a bit of pressure for Maths, so he gave me that day off. The rest of it I trained. I don’t like missing sessions.”
In another time he would be fulfilling his plan to study at the University of Limerick to become a PE and Geography teacher. But Kobe’s outlook is Australia, a life with St Kilda beckons in the AFL.
“I think the club did a post congratulating me, there were two representatives over to watch the game. They’ve been unbelievable. They had every right to pull the plug after the Leaving Cert. That was the plan before I joined Mayo. They were so good at letting me do this. It was amazing.”
There’s no confirmed flight date yet but the Mayo to Melbourne move is likely to take place in the next couple of weeks.
“Mum and Dad are going to go across for the first six weeks, probably. And then I’m home for Christmas anyway. I’ll live somewhere in Melbourne, I don’t know the exact spot of the house. But all that stuff is done.”
A new sporting environment awaits, one to adjust to and embrace. He’s aiming to rise to the challenge set with becoming a St Kilda player.
“I want to be in the first team as much as possible. I don’t want to go there and just blend in. That’s not my nature. You obviously strive to be one of the best at least. But yeah, there’s no guarantees. I’ll try my best to see what happens.
“I was at the bottom of the ladder this year too. So I have that. I like being the underdog. I like when no one really gives you a chance. I’m sure a lot of Australians probably don’t give me a chance, as much as they don’t give any Irish players a chance.
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“But you see what Oisín (Mullin) has been able to do over there this year, that gives you serious belief. Of course I’m looking forward to it, but I’m probably looking forward to the celebrations a bit more.”
He has played in a joyous manner all season, bringing a celebratory touch to his on-field displays. There have been moments that have called for that, the collective in Mayo’s victories and the individual in the three points he knocked over into Davin End goal on final day.
“It’s been a bit of a running joke. Myself and (Darragh) Beirne have brought in this kind of celebrating. Ryan was saying he’d never done it before. Now he even finds himself doing it. Thinking back, I’ve never really been a big celebrator.
Darragh Beirne and Kobe McDonald celebrate after Mayo's victory. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
“But something just took hold of me this year when I got a crowd around me. Andy always said if you give the crowd energy they’ll give it back to you. The Mayo people are amazing at that. I feel like no matter what I do, I give them a bit. Sometimes it’s probably a bit over the top. But we’ll have that too.”
While his immediate future lies in Australian Rules, the prospect of another Gaelic football chapter is not being shelved.
“I’m sure there’ll be a time in the future where I’ll be home. I don’t look too far ahead. I look to the next step.
“Right now, I’m an All-Ireland champion with this Mayo team and in three weeks’ time that will be done and I’ll be a St Kilda footballer and we’ll see what happens after that.”
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'A whirlwind' - Kobe's year of Mayo All-Ireland glory, the Leaving Cert and AFL future
A DAY OF Mayo milestones in the capital.
Kobe McDonald, fresh from being one of the key engineers in securing Sam Maguire for the people of Mayo after a torturous wait of three-quarters of a century, made a different debut in Dublin on a Sunday night when everyone associated with his county was in a celebratory frenzy.
“We went to Coppers, we said we’d do the experience. My first time in Coppers, yeah.”
When he woke this Monday morning, the Crossmolina teenager was still attempting to process the significance of the Sunday afternoon before.
Sitting down in the foyer of the Radisson Blu Hotel on Golden Lane, McDonald’s thoughts rolled from his mind ahead of the afternoon train journey back to Castlebar, and the giddy prospect of joyous times ahead all around his county.
“To be honest, I thought it would sink in this morning. I thought I’d realise what we’ve done, but I still find myself pinching myself, still find myself looking around (at) the Mayo supporters, the old people, my family, my friends, teammates.
“Me, (Eoin) McGreal and (Darragh) Beirne probably don’t understand the magnitude of what we’ve done. We’ve never been here before, it’s that unknown.
“Aidan O’Shea, Cillian O’Connor, Paddy Durcan, these boys were heroes for me when I was growing up. To be able to share the dressing room, to now share this moment with them is very surreal.
“One day, hopefully in the future I will realise what we’ve accomplished.”
In that post-match chaos on the pitch as Mayo players tried to figure out how to act on this newfound day of celebration, Kobe gravitated towards the reassuring presence of his older brother Jordan Flynn.
“It was a special moment, myself and my brother got our two partners on the pitch and to sit in the middle of Croke Park with Sam Maguire in the middle of the four of us.
“Jordo actually got me afterwards, and he said he had a dream that he was on a particular side (lifting the trophy), so he had to go on that side. So he pulled rank there. I could never in my wildest dreams imagine climbing the Hogan with him, and looking out to a sea of green and red, is an image I’ll never forget.
“I suppose we were just kind of computing that us two as brothers after winning Sam Maguire for Mayo after 75 long years.”
He has provided the soundtrack of the football summer, Kobe the breakout star as the Crossmolina school kid bursting onto the senior football stage. Clamour on that scale can be unnerving, the provision of a support network is essential.
“I try my best to probably block it all out, but like I’m not a robot. Of course I hear bits of it, but the only word I can describe the year is a whirlwind. I feel like I blinked and it was all over. The people I have at home have been so good to me with that outside noise keeping me grounded, keeping me understanding what the task is.”
When your father is Ciaran McDonald, one of the most charismatic and scrutinised footballers, and your older brother Jordan is alongside you in attack, you don’t have to look far for advice.
“Himself and Jordan have been there before. He does give me them bits to help me, probably more so with the outside noise. He was probably a very talked about GAA player too so he helps me out with that the most.”
Kobe recalled that moment last year when Andy Moran first him to Mayo’s flagship side.
“He spoke to my Dad first because I was only 17 at the time, and so he couldn’t ring me. When the opportunity came about, I definitely couldn’t say no. I was all in from the beginning.
“There’s only one answer, that’s for sure. Andy’s been, he’s one of the greats of the game, and to get a phone call from him and to think that you’re good enough is a special moment for me.”
He successfully juggled education responsibilities with sporting commitments. The Leaving Cert and the All-Ireland became the twin sporting tasks.
“I got one day off for Maths (exams), so I was under a bit of pressure for Maths, so he gave me that day off. The rest of it I trained. I don’t like missing sessions.”
In another time he would be fulfilling his plan to study at the University of Limerick to become a PE and Geography teacher. But Kobe’s outlook is Australia, a life with St Kilda beckons in the AFL.
“I think the club did a post congratulating me, there were two representatives over to watch the game. They’ve been unbelievable. They had every right to pull the plug after the Leaving Cert. That was the plan before I joined Mayo. They were so good at letting me do this. It was amazing.”
There’s no confirmed flight date yet but the Mayo to Melbourne move is likely to take place in the next couple of weeks.
“Mum and Dad are going to go across for the first six weeks, probably. And then I’m home for Christmas anyway. I’ll live somewhere in Melbourne, I don’t know the exact spot of the house. But all that stuff is done.”
A new sporting environment awaits, one to adjust to and embrace. He’s aiming to rise to the challenge set with becoming a St Kilda player.
“I want to be in the first team as much as possible. I don’t want to go there and just blend in. That’s not my nature. You obviously strive to be one of the best at least. But yeah, there’s no guarantees. I’ll try my best to see what happens.
“I was at the bottom of the ladder this year too. So I have that. I like being the underdog. I like when no one really gives you a chance. I’m sure a lot of Australians probably don’t give me a chance, as much as they don’t give any Irish players a chance.
“But you see what Oisín (Mullin) has been able to do over there this year, that gives you serious belief. Of course I’m looking forward to it, but I’m probably looking forward to the celebrations a bit more.”
He has played in a joyous manner all season, bringing a celebratory touch to his on-field displays. There have been moments that have called for that, the collective in Mayo’s victories and the individual in the three points he knocked over into Davin End goal on final day.
“It’s been a bit of a running joke. Myself and (Darragh) Beirne have brought in this kind of celebrating. Ryan was saying he’d never done it before. Now he even finds himself doing it. Thinking back, I’ve never really been a big celebrator.
“But something just took hold of me this year when I got a crowd around me. Andy always said if you give the crowd energy they’ll give it back to you. The Mayo people are amazing at that. I feel like no matter what I do, I give them a bit. Sometimes it’s probably a bit over the top. But we’ll have that too.”
While his immediate future lies in Australian Rules, the prospect of another Gaelic football chapter is not being shelved.
“I’m sure there’ll be a time in the future where I’ll be home. I don’t look too far ahead. I look to the next step.
“Right now, I’m an All-Ireland champion with this Mayo team and in three weeks’ time that will be done and I’ll be a St Kilda footballer and we’ll see what happens after that.”
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