Veteran Aidan O'Shea has seen it all but has still been wowed by generational Kobe McDonald

O'Shea, in his 18th season, has has never seen anything quite like teenage phenom Kobe McDonald.

Aidan O’Shea of Mayo, pictured for AIB at the launch of the 2026 GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Pic: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

No county in Division 1 of the National League used more players than Mayo, a whopping 36, but one of them stole the majority of the headlines, Kobe McDonald.

Aidan O'Shea, in his 18th season, has seen all sorts of players emerge in Mayo over the years; big ones, small ones, tall ones, fast ones. But the 35-year-old forward, who holds the record for outfield appearances in Championship football, has never seen anything quite like teenage phenom McDonald.

"There's been a couple of 'Oh fuck!' moments at training, when you're like 'Wow!'" said O'Shea, at the launch of AIB's sponsorship of the 2026 All-Ireland SFC. "I've known Kobe for a good few years now obviously through his Dad.

"Anybody who watches club football in Mayo, at underage level, or even in the club football last year at senior level, everyone's known of his talent for a long time and obviously we're delighted that he's here for the year.

"We're disappointed he's going to be going away but delighted to have him here for the next six months. Obviously he's a talented kid."

Mayo will play London in the Connacht SFC on Saturday week in Ruislip. It's the same fixture that a much younger O'Shea, and current colleagues Cillian O'Connor and Rob Hennelly, almost came a cropper in back in 2011 when the Exiles famously took Mayo to extra-time. Current manager Andy Moran also played that day.

But 15 years on, Mayo will be expected to win comfortably and it seems like a perfect opportunity, in a small ground away from the full glare of the media, to throw McDonald his Championship debut.

He has been carefully managed so far by Moran, scoring 1-4 on his debut as a sub against Monaghan in Round 4 but only featuring twice more, as a sub against Armagh in Round 5 and a starter against Kerry in Round 6.

An 18-year-old clearly can't be rushed but then McDonald may already be midway through his senior inter-county career given that he'll head to the AFL later this year.

"I'd say he's probably a little bit frustrated he didn't get to play as much with us," said O'Shea. "Earlier in the year, he was playing basketball at the school, he was playing school football, so we had to be a little bit patient with him.

"But he's a great player and a great talent to have in the squad at the moment. I think Andy and the management team have managed him well in terms of just giving him a few minutes throughout the League. As he has done with Darragh Beirne and Eoin McGreal."

Kobe's father, Ciarán, was a generational talent in Mayo and a spotlight fell on the younger McDonald from a young age.

"He's probably grown up a little bit with this," said O'Shea. "Since eight or nine years of age, we've been hearing about Kobe. What I've been really impressed about is that there's a self-assurance about him. He's dealing with his Leaving Cert. He wants to do really well in his Leaving Cert. He's dealing with school football, basketball and playing 20s and senior football (with Mayo). He just takes everything in his stride.

"I have a good relationship with him. We chat. I don't get a sense that there's any need for me to put my arm around him and say, 'Hey, stay away from this' or 'do this, do that'. He's kind of his own man and he's well able to carry himself. You wouldn't think he's only just turned 18 in December. Not just the way he plays on the football field but the way he carries himself off it. It probably bodes well for a life in a professional sport, unfortunately for us, but good for him."

McDonald's emergence has meant that, for once, O'Shea has probably been relegated to the second most talked about player in Mayo this season. The Breaffy man continues to thrive, featuring in all of their League games and returning goals in three matches.

Chances are he'll hit the 100-mark for Championship matches this summer, extending that record he holds for appearances as an outfield player.

"You look at the AFL, I think Scott Pendlebury will top all appearance records in four weeks' time, he's 38 years of age and still plays in the middle for Collingwood, so you take a bit of inspiration from that," said O'Shea.

"It shows it is possible to continue to play for a little bit later than people might think. I'm well used to the questions about retirement. They've been retiring me since I was about 29, so it's all good."