Darragh McCarthy (born August 2005)[1] is an Irish hurler. At club level he plays with Toomevara and at inter-county level with the Tipperary senior hurling team.
Born and raised in Toomevara, County Tipperary, McCarthy played hurling at all levels as a student at St Joseph's CBS in Nenagh.[2] He made his Harty Cup debut during the 2021–22 running of the competition.[3] McCarthy spent three seasons as the team's free-taker before captaining St Joseph's CBS to their maiden Harty Cup title after a one-point win over Ardscoil Rís in 2024.[4] He later earned a scholarship to the University of Limerick and won a Freshers 1 League title in 2024.[5]
At club level, McCarthy first played for Toomevara at juvenile and underage levels. He won consecutive North Tipperary U19AHC titles in 2023 and 2024.[6][7] 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.[8]
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 in the 2022 All-Ireland MHC final.[9]
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 Offaly in the 2024 All-Ireland U20HC final.[10] 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.[11]
Performances at school, club and inter-county underage levels resulted in a call-up to the senior team's training panel in December 2024.[12][13] He scored 1–06 on his debut in a National Hurling League defeat of Galway in January 2025.[14] McCarthy was the league's top scorer but ended the campaign with a 3–24 to 0–23 defeat by Cork in the final.[15] The subsequent championship campaign saw him being sent off after receiving a straight red card for striking Seán O'Donoghue in the first minute of the game against Cork.[16] He was again sent off in the All-Ireland semi-final for a second yellow card offence on Kilkenny goalkeeper Eoin Murphy.[17] 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.[18]
| Team | Year | Tipperary SHC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Score | ||
| Toomevara | 2023 | 5 | 2-35 |
| 2024 | 6 | 3-62 | |
| 2025 | 1 | 0-16 | |
| Career total | 12 | 5-113 | |
| Team | Year | National League | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Tipperary (MH) | 2022 | — | 4 | 1-04 | 2 | 0-01 | 6 | 1-05 | ||
| Total | — | 4 | 1-04 | 2 | 0-01 | 6 | 1-05 | |||
| Tipperary (U20) | 2023 | — | 4 | 0-03 | — | 4 | 0-03 | |||
| 2024 | — | 5 | 1-38 | 1 | 1-05 | 6 | 2-43 | |||
| 2025 | — | 4 | 1-35 | 1 | 0-05 | 5 | 1-40 | |||
| Total | — | 13 | 2-76 | 2 | 1-10 | 15 | 3-86 | |||
| Team | Year | National League | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Tipperary | 2025 | Division 1B | 6 | 2-48 | 3 | 0-19 | 4 | 2-27 | 13 | 4-94 |
| Career total | 6 | 2-48 | 3 | 0-19 | 4 | 2-27 | 13 | 4-94 | ||
St Josephs CBS Nenagh
University of Limerick
Toomevara
Tipperary
