KOBE McDonald has become arguably Ireland’s most celebrated citizen, even though he is still only 18 and it seems likely that he will be a resident of Australia for at least the next three years and possibly longer.

His rise to sporting stardom has been verging on the astonishing, given that he left school just a matter of weeks ago and then found himself at the heart of Mayo’s epic GAA All-Ireland triumph for the first time in 75 years.

McDonald, having made his championship debut in April, was a key figure three months later as his county put an end to generations of remarkable ill-fortune, infamously but unreliably blamed on a curse from a priest at a 1951 funeral, by lifting the Sam Maguire Cup on a day of unrestrained emotion at Croke Park.

His profile was helped by the fact that he was named after the legendary basketball player Kobe Bryant, and his father, Ciarán, was among the most gifted forwards of his era, but he has now firmly established his own reputation.

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Standing at 6′ 4″, he appears to glide effortlessly across the pitch, and it was his flair and fearlessness which brought joy to every county other than........

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