Mayo business community urged to pay up and keep teenage star Kobe McDonald in Ireland by GAA legend
Pat Spillane has urged Mayo’s money men to break the bank and keep teenage sensation Kobe McDonald on home soil. The eight-time All-Ireland winner says it would be a hammer blow if the AFL swooped for a generational talent just when Mayo are daring to dream again.The Mayo faithful are starving for Sam. They haven’t won the All-Ireland since 1951 and have lost a staggering 11 finals since — 1989, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021. Now, at last, there’s a buzz.Depth. Energy. And a whiz-kid who looks like he was born for the big stage. McDonald, just 18, has exploded onto the inter-county scene with 1-6 from two electric cameo appearances off the bench.Spillane admits he’s been blown away. “The Kobe thing is a revelation, what he's done so far,” said the Kerry legend. “I’m amazed by the confidence of the young fella. The first ball he received as an intercounty player, he shot a point.“The goal he got against Monaghan was like the confidence of a fella who’s been there for 10 years. Into the far corner, across the goalie — it wasn’t an easy shot.”It was ice in the veins stuff. And then came the moment that really made jaws drop. Spillane said: “There was one incident last week, we saw him winning the ball and there were four defenders in front of him at one stage and he took them on. Four Armagh men, grizzled defenders, and he took them on and went past them.”Spillane couldn’t resist a cheeky dig, though. “Now he was brilliant against Monaghan but with all due respect to Monaghan, if I came on at the same time, I’d probably rattle a couple of pints as well because Monaghan are in transition, they’re struggling.”Classic Spillane — praise with a punchline. But amid the hype, there’s a warning. “Kobe looks very impressive but we haven’t seen him in a full game, and when he gets the attention… there’s a big difference between coming on and starting. Coming on, the opponents are getting tired, the game is opening up a bit. And with the new rules, you now have a platform for the skilled players to have the time and the space to produce their array of skills.“And if the ball comes up quick enough — and it is with the transition with Mayo at the moment — they’re kicking the ball, it’s coming up quick, Kobe’s getting the ball in space and he’s doing the rest, no different than David Clifford.”That’s serious company. But Championship is a different beast. “It’s fine at the moment but the pressure comes on in the Championship when he is in Pearse Stadium or in Dr Hyde Park in front of 25,000 on a hot day. Look, in Kerry, if you’re young enough you’re good enough and you’re given a chance. Mayo, the expectation, the pressure’s a lot harder, probably because they have not won an All-Ireland since the 1950s and Kobe is now the next great white hope. But I’d say you could fill a book with the next great white hopes of Mayo football. There’s one that arrives every 10 or 12 years and he’s the great white hope and he’s going to take us over the finishing line.”Spillane believes this kid is different — and that losing him to Australia would be a sickener. “I don’t begrudge him a contract in AFL because the chance of getting paid for playing a professional sport in Australia is brilliant,” he said. “But surely to God there are enough wealthy Mayo people that could come together and give him a package.”In other words: pass the hat.Pat Spillane is an ambassador for Comfort Keepers who were Announced as Official Community Impact Partner of the GAA/GPA.For more information about Comfort Keepers services or career opportunities, visit www.comfortkeepers.ieWant to see more of the stories you love from the Irish Mirror? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Irish Mirror as a preferred source, simply click here.
