Shock at death of All-Ireland-winning minor footballer

Ciara Galvin

“WE wouldn’t have won the All-Ireland without Darragh Doherty. He was a huge figure in our squad, a great guy, and the life and soul of the party.”
These were the words of Mayo’s 2013 All-Ireland winning minor football captain, Stephen Coen, yesterday (Monday) as he reacted to the news that his former team-mate, Darragh Doherty (pictured) from Kilmaine, had died in a single-vehicle road traffic accident on Sunday night last.
The tightly-knit community of Kilmaine was once again hit by tragedy with the death of the well-known Gaelic footballer.
The 19 year-old passed away on Sunday night after the car he was travelling in struck a wall at Carrowmore, Ballinrobe at approximately 10.30pm. The other male passenger in the car, named locally as Niall Heneghan, is receiving ongoing treatment for his injuries.
Darragh, a son of Tom and Margaret from Ballyhenry, won an All-Ireland minor football medal with Mayo in 2013.
The talented teenager scored 1-2 in the All-Ireland Final win over Tyrone at Croke Park.
Kilmaine GAA club has described Darragh as ‘a winner’ and ‘a leader’.

Profound sadness
In a statement released yesterday (Monday), they said Darragh had brought ‘honour and glory to the club’ and that it was with ‘profound sadness and shock’ that they had learned of his untimely passing.
“Darragh was a winner, a leader, expecting the high standards of all those around him, that he delivered himself,” the club statement read.
The club also extended their sympathy to Darragh’s parents and to his four brothers, Cathal, Adrian, David and Gerard, his extended family, and friends.
Kilmaine GAA club have also extended their best wishes to the Heneghan family saying that they wished Niall ‘a speedy recovery’.
Kilmaine club chairman, Donal Walsh, who also employed Darragh in Turin Components in Ballinrobe, described him as ‘salt of the earth’. Walsh said an example of this was Darragh’s attention to the younger players in the club.
“A perfect example of the type of lad he was, was when he brought the Tom Markham Cup back to Kilmaine and the amount of attention he gave to the underage players.
He had a heart as big as himself. He’d take photos with the younger kids, sign jerseys, and before trainings he’d often kick a bit of ball with them,” said Walsh, who added that he and his colleagues were heartbroken by his passing.
“It’s another loss, he was going to be a future kingpin of the club. All eyes were on him, and all eyes wanted to be him,” said the chairman.
Darragh Doherty is the second member of the Kilmaine senior football squad to die in the last 12 months after PΡdraig O’Dea was fatally injured in a road traffic accident in London last September.  
Joker of the pack
2013 Mayo minor manager Enda Gilvarry described Darragh as an ‘excellent footballer’ and an ‘excellent team-mate’.
“He was a little bit of a joker of the pack but he had a serious footballer inside him,” said an emotional Gilvarry.
“He was fiercely committed and very dedicated. He worked extremely hard.”
Asked what he will remember from his time spent with the talented centre forward, the former manager said ‘his smile, his devilish smile’.
From a sporting point of view, Gilvarry said he would remember Darragh’s goal scored in the Connacht final in 2013.
“It set us on our way and the goal scored in the second half of the All-Ireland final set us on our way. He was a footballer at ease with his own ability.”
Meanwhile, Mayo GAA Board Chairman Mike Connelly described the news as ‘shocking’ and said Darragh’s passing is a huge blow for his family, club, and Mayo GAA.
“I’ve spoken to Kilmaine GAA chairman, Donal Walsh, and let him know that Mayo GAA will do whatever we can for Darragh’s family, and his team-mates, at this very difficult time,” added Connelly.
“This awful news will cast a shadow over next weekend’s Mayo/Dublin game for an awful lot of people in south Mayo. It’s a terrible tragedy.”
Former team-mate Coen said Darragh ‘trained just as much as anyone’.
Asked what memorable moment he will take from his time playing alongside Darragh, Stephen also highlighted the second half goal scored by Darragh in the All-Ireland Final in 2013.
“The goal in the final was a big changing point, but Darragh got big goals all year for us.
“He was a big figure in the squad and we wouldn’t have won it if it wasn’t for him,” he added.
Gardaí are still appealing for witnesses following Sunday night’s accident while the N84 road from Kilmaine to Ballinrobe was reopened yesterday.
Anyone with any information on the accident is asked to please contact Claremorris Garda Station on 094 9372080.
The funeral arrangements for the burial of Darragh Doherty are as follows: Reposing at Kilmaine Community Centre on Wednesday evening from 5pm until 9pm. Removal from his home on Thursday to St Patrick’s Church, Kilmaine for Requiem Mass at 1pm, followed by burial in Kilmaine New Cemetery.