We find out more about how McMullen has grown into a key player with Armagh. Shaun Casey writes…

MOST Armagh fans were puzzled when the late change to the starting team was announced. The orange and white brigade were decked out at Croke Park, hoping to see their team lift some national silverware for the first time in a long time.

It was the 2024 Division Two National League final. Kieran McGeeney’s side were the favourites to down a weakened Donegal outfit at Headquarters. Both had already claimed promotion straight back to the top tier, but who was heading up as champions?

A bug in the camp had hampered Armagh’s preparations that week and with Barry McCambridge, named at wing back, unfit to start, a young Darragh McMullen stepped into the fold for his first ever taste senior inter-county action.

He had come through the ranks, first catching the eye on the Orchard minor team managed by Ciaran McKeever. McMullen stepped up to play for the U-20s under Barry O’Hagan’s watch. Now, he was entering the big leagues.

A debut at Croke Park, most players can only dream.

His inclusion was a headscratcher for outsiders. But for any Armagh supporter that had witnessed McMullen coming through the ranks, with both Madden and Armagh, they knew he would fit in okay.

That day, things didn’t quite work out. He saw plenty of possession as Armagh lost out by the minimum of margins, but his three or four efforts at the target were wayward and he was called ashore after 60 minutes.

“I was very happy with Darragh McMullen, he’s only a young fella. I know he pulled a couple wide, but he was a handful, and he was busy,” Orchard boss Kieran McGeeney said after that Division Two decider.

“From my own point of view, it’s good to get another young player out on the pitch and hopefully have another option in the championship. With the week that we’ve had, a lot of fellas just weren’t at 100 per cent.

“The fact it was Croke Park and plenty of space, we all know his talent at club level. Plus, there is a wee bit more protection out there in Croke Park so we just thought it would be a good game to throw him in.

“I have to say, I thought he did very well. Probably with that wee bit of nerves, he just pulled a couple of those shots wide. But he’s a good player and he’s going to be a great player for Armagh, so it was good to get him on the pitch.”

McMullen saw a few minutes come championship time. He played the final few moments as Armagh held on to beat Down in the Ulster semi-final, thanks to a late Jason Duffy score. He was the last sub used in the rout at Celtic Park when they hammered Derry.

GIVING YOUTH A CHANCE…McGeeney gave McMullen his debut out of nowhere

All in all, he gained 13 minutes of championship action. By the end of the summer, Armagh were All-Ireland champions, and McMullen was one of eight minors McKeever had brought through that now had Celtic Crosses in their back pockets.

Come 2025, the Madden man was hungry for more and ready to stake a claim for a starting jersey. A permanent one this time.

Last season, the 22-year-old was a regular on the team. He started all 14 league and championship encounters as Armagh lost their All-Ireland crown to Kerry.

But 2025 was a historic season for McMullen. After spending a bit of time in America during the summer, he returned to lead Madden to a first ever Senior Championship title, winning man of the match in the final and Senior Championship Player of the Year.

Ronan Gallagher, former Fermanagh goalkeeper, now living in Armagh and teaching in Middletown, has been involved with the Madden club for a long time. He has seen McMullen rise through the ranks to become the player he is today.

“Even in Armagh training, who would want to mark him? If it’s an A v B game even, if somebody marks D Mac (McMullen), then who marks Conaty? It’s a massive challenge,” laughed Gallagher when asked about his impact.

Tagging job

“If you tag McMullen, you are going to leave gaps in behind. If you tag Conaty as well, then there’s going to be gaps and suddenly you’re into a man-to-man scenario and Armagh are devastating when they go at teams.

“Darragh has been in unbelievable form – even going back to the day that he started in the league final against Donegal, maybe things didn’t work out for him but obviously the Armagh management team saw enough in him to stick with him.

“What he has done this year, and obviously for the club last year, is brilliant. He is just such a top, top fella and I really couldn’t speak highly enough of him.”

He wouldn’t be the most vocal player inside the Madden changing room, but McMullen does his talking on the field. He speaks via his actions.

Early on in the county final last year against Cullyhanna, when Aidan Nugent had just tied things up, he fired over a superb two-pointer that helped settle the nerves for the Raparees as they went on to collect the Gerry Fagan Cup.

Even more recently for Armagh, whether it be nailing scores from outside the 40-metre arc, setting up scores, linking the play or catching kickouts, McMullen has been outstanding.

“He’s brilliant and certainly it was noticeable last year that he was a lot more vocal around the place and involved more in the leadership of the team, he has really stepped up to the mark in that regard,” Gallagher continued.

FIRST TIME…Darragh McMullen helped lead Madden to a first ever SFC title

“But look, it doesn’t matter what he says, it’s what he does on the pitch is the key thing. As a person, he’s top end and we’re just lucky to have him in the club and so are Armagh because he’s some asset to them.

“They have guided him well and developed him well to this point and that will just continue, he’ll continue to get better I would say.”

So far in the championship, McMullen has been a key man for Armagh. He may not put up the big scores that Conaty and Turbitt are recording, but Gabriel Bannigan will certainly be planning for him ahead of the Ulster final.

In the opening round of the Ulster Championship, McMullen touched the ball in the first half more than any other player on the field. He was in possession 22 times as Armagh dominated the early exchanges.

He scored one of the points of the championship, picking up a short Blaine Hughes kickout on his own 21 metre line before racing the entire length of the field to split the posts.

Two-pointers followed against Fermanagh and Down. “He has that in the locker, there’s no doubt about it,” Gallagher continued of McMullen’s improved scoring rate.

“That’s the challenge for other teams when they come up against him because when the ground gets harder and as games go on and it’s a bit looser and there’s a wee bit more space, that’s the challenge in closing him down.”

When the programmes are released for next Sunday’s Ulster final, no one will be surprised to see McMullen on the Armagh team sheet.

He’s no longer an unknown addition. He’s one of the leaders. One of the main men. One of the key players aiming to guide Kieran McGeeney’s side to the Anglo Celt for the first time since 2008.