Darragh McCarthy (born August 2005) is an Irish hurler. At club level he plays with

Toomevara Toomevara, officially Toomyvara (), is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland, 11 km east of Nenagh. It is a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe, and is in the historical barony of Ormond Upper. Transport Local Link Tipperary ...

and at inter-county level with the

Tipperary senior hurling team The Tipperary county hurling team represents County Tipperary, Tipperary in hurling and is governed by Tipperary GAA, the County board (Gaelic games), county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual ...

Early life

Born and raised in

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

, McCarthy played hurling at all levels as a student at St Joseph's CBS in

Nenagh Nenagh ( ; , or simply 'the Fair') is the county town of County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond Fair. Nenagh was the county town of the former county of Nort ...

. He made his

Harty Cup Harty may refer to: * Harty (surname), a list of people * Harty baronets, an extinct title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom * Harty, Swale, Kent, England, a village * Harty, a community in the township of Val Rita-Harty, Ontario, Canada * Dr ...

debut during the 2021–22 running of the competition. McCarthy spent three seasons as the team's free-taker before

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

ing St Joseph's CBS to their maiden Harty Cup title after a one-point win over Ardscoil Rís in 2024. He later earned a scholarship to the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

and won a Freshers 1 League title in 2024.

Club career

At club level, McCarthy first played for

at juvenile and underage levels. He won consecutive North Tipperary U19AHC titles in 2023 and 2024. McCarthy also joined the club's senior team in 2023 and was the overall top scorer when Toomevara were beaten by Loughmore–Castleiney in the 2024 SHC final.

Inter-county career

McCarthy was just 16 when he first appeared on the inter-county scene with Tipperary as an impact sub with the minor team in 2022. He won a Munster MHC medal that season, before later scoring a point from a free in the 1–17 to 1–16 win over

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

in the 2022 All-Ireland MHC final. McCarthy subsequently spent three consecutive seasons with the under-21 team after immediately progressing to that grade from minor. He was Tipperary's top scorer in 2024, in a season which saw him win his first Munster U20HC before a 2–20 to 2–14 defeat by

in the 2024 All-Ireland U20HC final. In his third and final season in the grade, McCarthy was again Tipperary's top scorer as he claimed a second consecutive Munster U20HC medal. His last game in the grade saw him win an All-Ireland U20HC medal after a 3–19 to 1–16 win over

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

. Performances at school, club and inter-county underage levels resulted in a call-up to the senior team's training panel in December 2024. He scored 1–06 on his debut in a

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

defeat of

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

in January 2025. McCarthy was the league's top scorer but ended the campaign with a 3–24 to 0–23 defeat by

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. The subsequent championship campaign saw him being sent off after receiving a straight red card for striking

Seán O'Donoghue Seán O'Donoghue (born 25 January 1996) is an Irish hurler who plays as a right corner-back for club side Inniscarra, divisional side Muskerry and at inter-county level with the Cork senior hurling team. Playing career College O'Donoghue fi ...

in the first minute of the game against Cork. He was again sent off in the All-Ireland semi-final for a second yellow card offence on Kilkenny goalkeeper Eoin Murphy. McCarthy won an All-Ireland SHC medal in July 2025, after scoring 1–13, including a penalty, in the 3-27 to 1-18 win over Cork in the 2025 All-Ireland SHC final.

Career statistics

Club

Underage Inter-county

Senior Inter-county

Honours

St Josephs CBS Nenagh *

Dr Harty Cup The Dr. Harty Cup is an annual inter-schools hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster PPS GAA division of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It has been contested every year, except on three occasions, since 1918. As the pin ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

University of Limerick * Higher Education Freshers 1 Hurling League: 2024 Toomevara * North Tipperary Under-19 A Hurling Championship: 2023, 2024 Tipperary *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

All-Ireland Under-20 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the oneills.com GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). ...

Munster Under-20 Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Munster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-c ...

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Associ ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Munster Minor Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Darragh 2005 births Living people Toomevara hurlers Tipperary inter-county hurlers 21st-century Irish sportsmen