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IF his time as a Lion comes to an end, Darragh Joyce can still enjoy life as a Cat.
That is according to his brother Kieran, who says the AFL recruit still harbours ambitions of playing inter-county hurling.
Despite captaining Kilkenny to an All-Ireland minor title in 2014, Darragh did not follow in Kieran’s footsteps by going on to star for his county at senior level.
The 2025 Aussie Rules season, which kicks off tomorrow, will be Darragh’s ninth since he made the move down under to join St Kilda.
He is now plying his trade with Brisbane Lions, who handed him a one-year contract extension last October.
But according to former Kilkenny defender Kieran, there could still be a future in black and amber for his younger sibling, who turns 28 next month.
The four-time All-Ireland SHC winner revealed that the possibility of a return to hurling for Darragh has already been broached by Kilkenny boss Derek Lyng.
Kieran said: “He met Derek there last Christmas and Derek said, ‘If it doesn’t work out in Brisbane, we’d love to have a look at you.’
“It’s an open door to a certain extent and Darragh knows that himself. But look, he’s getting paid to play over there… the weather is good, the lifestyle is good so it’s hard to bring him back to this life.
“But Darragh said it himself that he always had a grá to play for Kilkenny.
“He always wanted to tick that box so maybe, who knows, in the next year or two he might get a chance to come back and try out for a spot.”
Still, having been away for so long, Kieran knows that a return from Australia would need to happen sooner rather than later if Darragh is to compete for a place in the Kilkenny set-up.
He said: “Darragh will be 29 next year so would he get a chance? From his point of view, he’d probably just love to represent the jersey, to get a chance and to go out and play.
“When he met Derek, Derek said, ‘Look, by all means we’ll have a look at you and the door is never closed.’
“From his point of view, he can understand that if the opportunity came up in Australia of another contract, you can’t blame him for moving ahead with that.
“From Darragh’s point of view, if it finishes up this year but he gets another extension on the contract, then you probably would be saying that there will be no thoughts of him coming back.
“But he made it clear to me that he would love to do it a year or two ago. His focus was getting a new contract, obviously getting paid and moving on in that aspect.
“But we all know that it’s cut-throat in the AFL, especially that Brisbane won last year. He’s fighting to retain a place in the squad there and if that doesn’t work out then obviously he’ll come back.
“And our club would be delighted to have him back, regardless of county. So, who knows? I suppose the next 12 months will say a lot.”
Along with former Tyrone star Conor McKenna, Joyce is one of two Irish members of a Brisbane squad entering the new season as defending AFL champions.
However, they must wait until next week to begin their campaign after the opener against Geelong was postponed due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Thanks to the Grand Final win over Sydney Swans last September, McKenna joined Tadhg Kennelly, Zach Tuohy and Mark O’Connor on the list of Irish players to have won a Premiership medal.
But Joyce, who made six appearances during the 2024 campaign, missed out on the accolade as he had to settle for a role as an emergency sub for the showpiece fixture.
Kieran, who retired from Kilkenny duty in 2017, said: “He’d love to be on the field of play to go and win it.
But it’s a tough league over there and it’s especially tough for Irish guys, taking what they deem Aussies’ places.
“If an Irish guy plays bad, they get an awful lot more of a slagging than if their local Aussie guy plays bad. It’s a tough environment but he’s well used to it now.”
JERRY O’CONNOR admits that the Cork hurling strikes were a cause of great stress – but the two-time All-Ireland SHC winner has no regrets.
During his decorated playing career with the Rebels, O’Connor was involved in strike action on three occasions.
The players made a landmark decision to withdraw their services in 2002 as they clashed with the county board over basic demands like gym membership, training gear and meals.
When the matter was settled, O’Connor and his team-mates held up their end of the bargain by reaching the next four Liam MacCarthy Cup finals.
Disputes over managerial appointments were at the root of two further strikes that occurred between 2007 and 2009.
O’Connor’s career will be profiled alongside that of his twin brother Ben on the latest episode of Laochra Gael, which airs on TG4 tonight at 9.30pm.
Reflecting on the strikes, he said: “It was a stressful time. But at the end of the day, it was done for a reason. And I think the reason that it was done for, it has improved conditions for all Cork teams since then.
“It’s been onward and upward. You won’t hear anybody complaining about the way teams are prepared or looked after in Cork.”
Having won back-to-back All-Irelands in 2004 and 2005, Cork had slipped down the pecking order by the time O’Connor retired from inter-county hurling following a 2011 qualifier loss to Galway.
The Newtownshandrum star added: “Of course I’d like to be playing now but, having said that, there’s no way I’d change my time. I played for ten or 11 years, I had an unbelievable time.
“Unfortunately we were caught up in strikes but that’s all part of life. These things were sorted and everything was done for the betterment of Cork hurling.
“Things improved. There was a standard set after those strikes and I think it’s gotten better and better since. I was happy to have played when I played.”
Twenty years have now passed since O’Connor claimed the game’s top individual prize after excelling at midfield alongside Tom Kenny.
The 2005 Hurler of the Year said: “We complemented one another. Both of us were able to move a little bit and it was just amazing – it was like putting on an old pair of shoes, we just fitted together well.
“We knew what each other was at and we’d always have a quick chat before the ball was thrown in, ‘I’m going to be here, you must be there’ and vice-versa.
“It was just kind of natural to the two of us – we knew what we were at. To be fair, playing with Tom, he made it very easy – he was an athlete, a great player – and look at all the good players we had around us”
*JERRY O’CONNOR and twin brother Ben will be profiled on the latest episode of Laochra Gael, which airs tonight on TG4 at 9.30pm.
