The lowdown on the 12 Irish AFL players as 2025 season gets underway down under

The 2025 AFL season gets underway on Friday, with a dozen Irish players set to take part in the competition this year.

Conor McKenna won a Premiership with the Brisbane Lions last year, and Kilkenny man Darragh Joyce is also on the club’s books, but their season opener at home to Geelong, scheduled for tomorrow, has been postponed, along with Gold Coast’s clash with Essendon on Saturday, due to tropical Cyclone Alfred.

So, it means that the season will now get underway with Sydney Swans against Hawthorn, featuring Meath’s Conor Nash, on Friday instead.

There were 13 Irish players at AFL clubs for the 2024 season though Zach Tuohy (Geelong) has retired after a record-breaking career down under, while James Madden (Brisbane Lions) has returned home and started Dublin’s opening two League games against Mayo and Donegal.

Against that, Cillian Burke is joining fellow Kerryman Mark O’Connor at Geelong, and while Meath prospect Eamonn Armstrong has signed for St Kilda, he will complete his Leaving Cert first before linking up with the club ahead of the 2026 season.

Eoin McEvoy (Derry), David Colbert (Dublin), Ultan Kelm (Fermanagh) and Eoin McElholm (Tyrone) were also linked with moves to the AFL, which ultimately didn’t materialise, leaving the following as the 12 Irishmen involved this year.

Mark O’Connor (Geelong)

O’Connor, a Premiership winner with Geelong in 2022, signed a fresh contract with the Cats that will take him up to the end of the 2026 AFL season, by which time he will be almost 30, thereby limiting the window of opportunity for him to return and play for Kerry.

Having played 22 AFL games in both the 2022 and ‘23 seasons, he featured 13 times in 2024 as his season was cut short due to a wrist injury that required surgery.

But he’s spoken recently of being “refreshed” by spending much of the close season in Ireland as he looks to build on his impressive 122 AFL appearances in 2025.

Oisín Mullin (Geelong)

Mayo’s two-time Young Footballer of the Year bucked the trend somewhat by signing for Geelong at the age of 22 ahead of the 2023 season, but made six AFL appearances that year and doubled that tally in 2024. He looks well placed to kick on again this season.

Cillian Burke (Geelong)

After playing in all seven of Kerry’s Championship games last year, the Milltown-Castlemaine youngster was signed up as a category B rookie by Geelong last October.

As is customary, he may have to learn his trade at VFL level before making his full debut but, as the likes of Mullin have shown, there is a pathway there for him this year.

Conor Nash (Hawthorn)

A hot underage prospect for Meath and also eyed by Leinster rugby, Nash is now well established at Hawthorn having made a career high 25 appearances in 2025.

He’s contracted to the club until the end of the 2029 season and is in line to hit the landmark of 100 AFL appearances against Essendon at the MCG on March 14.

Rob Monahan (Carlton)

The Kerry youngster is still looking to make the breakthrough by playing in the AFL though, after making 18 appearances for Carlton’s second string in the VFL in his first year at the club in 2024, he’ll be hopeful of making the step up this season.

Matt Duffy (Carlton)

The Longford man has endured a stop-start period with Carlton as he ruptured his ACL while on duty for his club Dromard in 2023. After completing much of his rehab in Ireland, he’s now back in Australia and hoping to kickstart his career in 2025.

Liam O’Connell (St Kilda)

O’Connell, from the Ballincollig club in Cork, spent much of his childhood in Australia and signed for St Kilda in August 2023 as a category B rookie. The 22-year-old has been plying his trade in the VFL so far and will be eager to make a breakthrough to the first team in 2025.

Callum Brown (GWS Giants)

Once a hot underage prospect for Derry, he enjoyed a breakout season in 2023 when kicking 19 goals in as many appearances though he struggled for form last year and dropped down to the VFL side.

He is available for Sunday’s opener against Melbourne at the MCG after overcoming a hamstring injury and, at 24, will look to kick on again.

Darragh Joyce (Brisbane Lions)

The former Kilkenny minor hurler’s AFL career has yet to take off having made just 24 AFL appearances across six seasons for St Kilda and the Brisbane Lions, with whom he missed out on an Premiership medal last year having only been named as an emergency sub for the Grand Final.

Still, the club granted him a one-year contract last October after he featured in six of their closing nine home and away season games in 2024.

Conor McKenna (Brisbane Lions)

Emulated Kennelly, Tuohy and O’Connor by winning a Premiership last year as he came off the bench in the Grand Final pummelling of Sydney Swans to go with the All-Ireland he won with Tyrone in 2021.

Having also played with Essendon, McKenna is now up to 123 AFL appearances.

Mark Keane (Adelaide)

The hero of Cork’s sensational Munster semi-final win over Kerry in 2020, Keane, who also played hurling for his county, had by far his best AFL season yet in 2024 as he made 21 appearances for Adelaide to bring his career tally to 31, which includes five games for Collingwood.

Karl Gallagher (Adelaide)

An ever-present for Monaghan during their run to the 2023 All-Ireland semi-final, the Crows signed him on a two-year deal early last year though he has yet to make his AFL bow, something he will likely need to remedy this year if he is to earn another contract.

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