Teenage star bows out at the top after one Gaelic football season
Dublin-based sportswear brand O’Neills has celebrated the remarkable success of Gaelic footballer Kobe McDonald.
At the age of 18, while in his final year of school, Kobe McDonald broke into senior football this season and played a prominent role in helping his team, Mayo, achieve its first All Ireland title in 75 years.
After the final against Kerry on July 26, Kobe McDonald confirmed that he will head to Australia in August to launch a career in Australian Rules Football with Melbourne team St Kilda’s. This means his Gaelic football career has ended almost as soon as it began.
Gaelic games, which include hurling as well as Gaelic football, are strictly amateur, even though the 2026 finals for both sports attracted crowds of 82,300 to Croke Park in Dublin on successive Sundays. For context, the FiFA World Cup final in New York-New Jersey drew a crowd of 80,663.
Australian Rules will give Kobe McDonald the chance to earn a lucrative salary.
O’Neills, which is the official supplier to 28 of the 32 county teams that take part in Gaelic games, said: “One chance. That is all Kobe McDonald needed.”
Image: O’Neills.
