Oh no. Not again.
You didn't have to be a mind reader to guess what Darragh McCarthy was thinking when referee James Owens flashed a yellow card and then a red at the Tipperary forward in the 58th minute of the All-Ireland SHC semi-final against Kilkenny.
The 19-year-old put his hands on his head, frozen in shock, before opponent Mikey Butler and team-mate Jake Morris encourage him to leave the field with consoling pats on the back.
Tipp are already one point down. This is going to be the Cork Munster round-robin game all over again, when his red card in the opening seconds was widely accepted to have decided the contest before it started.
Fortunately for McCarthy, it isn’t. The 14 men up their game, and beat the Cats by what controversially turns out to be two points, after Oisín O’Donoghue’s goal in the final minute of normal time and a scoreboard fiasco.
McCarthy embraces his fellow Under-20 All-Ireland winner at the final whistle, tears of relief as much as joy.
His side had survived the red card to make this Sunday's All-Ireland final – just as they had in their most recent semi-final appearance, when John McGrath was dismissed against Wexford in 2019 – and, like McGrath was then, he is eligible to play. But has the youngster given his manager a decision to make?
McCarthy has had a spectacular ascent in becoming the first teenager (he doesn’t turn 20 until August) to nail down a championship starting spot for Tipp since his now team-mate Noel McGrath - who McCarthy has called "my favourite player of all time" - in 2009.
Despite his obvious skill growing up, the Community Games U12 long-puck champion wasn't the tallest, taking a while to get to his current height of 5’10 (178cm) and didn’t start a single game when the Premier pipped Offaly for their first All-Ireland minor crown in six years in 2022.
However, as manager James Woodlock told The Examiner this year: "He was winning most matches for us coming off the bench. He attacked every game when he came on. Never a cross word. He knew what was expected of him. He was above his years for a 16-year-old.
"There was absolutely no question Darragh was going to make it. He was ahead of his years, he was direct, he was aggressive. You couldn’t ask for a better young fella."
He started one game for the Tipperary U20s in 2023 but then just under 18 months ago, McCarthy captained St Joseph’s CBS Nenagh to their first Harty Cup (Munster secondary schools). Nenagh were pipped by St Raphael’s of Loughrea in the semi-finals but McCarthy went on to score 2-43 in six games (0-08 from play) as Tipp's U20s won the provincial title for the first time in five years, only falling short against Offaly in the All-Ireland final.
He was also introduced to senior training with an eye to the near future – as Tipperary finished bottom of Munster with one point - and then lit up the county senior hurling championship for the second year in a row, finishing as top-scorer with 3-62 in six matches, 2-13 from play, as his club Toomevara (home to Tommy and Benny Dunne, and John O’Brien) reached their first county final in 16 years but were defeated by a John McGrath-inspired Loughmore-Castleiney.
Last autumn, McCarthy was awarded a scholarship to study Sport and Exercise Sciences at University of Limerick but played for the first-year team (he was captain and man of the match in the Freshers 1 final) rather than with their Fitzgibbon Cup-winning side. He was plenty busy though, scoring 1-06 from placed balls on his Tipperary senior debut against Galway in January as he also took over the key role of free-taker, following a rotating cast last year.
The young sharpshooter topped the 2025 Allianz Hurling League scoring charts, with 2-38 (0-07 from play), despite being rested for the final-round win over Clare, and scored four frees in the 10-point defeat in the decider to Cork.
He then hit three points from play and the equalising late free (having missed a couple) on an excellent championship debut against Limerick in April, having played for the U20s midweek. But then it all went wrong, even before the throw-in, in Cork.
His dismissal at Páirc Uí Chaoimh came for a jab of the butt of the hurl into Rebel corner-back Sean O’Donoghue even before the throw-in, as part of what appeared a team strategy to square up to opponents that had also been evident before the draw with Limerick. Cork scored three goals in the first 17 minutes and won by 15 points but manager Liam Cahill certainly wasn’t throwing him under the bus afterwards.
"It is a difficult day for young Darragh," he said. "He is 19 years of age. He is a lovely kid. He loves hurling and loves playing for Tipperary. He is just misfortunate today. That is Munster championship hurling.
"He is beating himself up, as well, which is not unusual for a fella that loves his hurling so much. We all have his back in Tipperary and we’ll support and he will have really good days in the Tipperary jersey. He is mentally a very strong young fella."
'That's the problem with adrenaline' - the panel assess the incident which saw Darragh McCarthy sent off before throw-in
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Former Premier manager Liam Sheedy noted: "That’s the problem with adrenaline, when it takes over" and called it "a tough learning experience."
The question for Cahill now is whether he is learning too slowly.
McCarthy regained his place after suspension, scoring 23 points (0-02 from play) in the victories over Waterford – in between winning the Munster and All-Ireland U20 titles - Laois and Galway, and had scored 1-02 (2f) as well as setting up Jason Forde’s goal in his almost an hour on the pitch in the semi-final.
McCarthy had picked up his first yellow in just the fourth minute, for a slap of the hurl onto Paddy Deegan’s elbow as he tried to close down the Kilkenny wing-back.
"There wasn’t much force. But at the same time, you can’t do it, it is a striking action," observed Limerick forward Tom Morrissey on The Sunday Game. "Some refs might leave it go but you’re still putting yourself at risk of getting a yellow.
That meant he had to be careful for the rest of the game but, with 12 minutes left and the contest finely poised, Kilkenny keeper Eoin Murphy sidestepped the Tipp man, who left his hurl hanging out to rap Murphy on the knuckles.
Owens called him over and ended his afternoon prematurely.
Tipperary are down to 14 men after Darragh McCarthy is shown a second yellow card. That seemed harsh.
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"It’s only a slight little tip, but there’s no need to do it," said a baffled Michael Duignan on commentary. "It’s harmless enough, but when you’re on a yellow you don’t do that."
Brendan Cummins, his U20 manager, Sheedy and Jackie Tyrrell all felt the second yellow was harsh but the concern is that McCarthy had no prospect of winning the ball with either challenge, and Cahill said he had "no complaints" with the decision.
"There’s no need to do it," agreed Morrissey. "On both occasions, the player wasn’t about to play the ball where you could come in with the hurley. They were carrying the ball in their hand. Flicking with the hurley, the ref is going to have make a decision and you’re the one who’s going to miss out."
Forde had already been switched onto the frees by the time of the red card, McCarthy having missed two scoreable opportunities. The 31-year-old then hit four placed balls of considerable difficulty, which were instrumental in Tipperary closing out the game.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport afterwards, Cahill suggested McCarthy would not be taken off the frees: "It's great to have Jason in reserve, he's having a huge year again... I'll be backing young Darragh all day long anyway, I have no concerns in that regard."
But, given O’Donoghue’s match-winning impact off the bench, is there an argument to start him instead of his U20 team-mate? It would allow Forde to take over the dead-balls without drama and McCarthy could always step in as a sub if the veteran was having an off day. It might also spare him some surely inevitable attempts to test his composure. Does he risk being ineffectual if he is too worried about picking up cards to tackle?
Speaking in the aftermath of being named man of the match on his SHC debut against Limerick, McCarthy gave an interview that sounded articulate and mature beyond his 19 years.
"The atmosphere was class and I loved every second," he said. "Playing with the likes of John and Jason is such a privilege and it’s so invaluable the experience you get from them. It’s really kicking me on as a player.
After the U20 triumph, he said: "To be able to put on this jersey is a massive honour. You’re representing your club, your family, coaches. You’re representing everyone. It does so much for so many people; it lifts the whole county, and we’re in great preparations for the senior team as well."
Though his second mistake this summer could have been very costly, Cahill called him "a very resilient young man" and gave every indication that he will retain his spot: "I think over the next couple of sessions, he'll arrive here in a good place."
This time, the manager will hope McCarthy can be as clever on the pitch as he clearly is off it and keep his aggression on the right side of the line. If he does, he just might go one better than his idol Noel and become an All-Ireland champion in his debut season.
Watch the All-Ireland Hurling Championship final, Cork v Tipperary, on Sunday from 2.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
