Twice as nice: A year of two pointers

Niall Gartland shines on the light on the best two-point shooters in the game, with stats courtesy of @thenumbersgael

=1 Rory Beggan (37)

THAT man Beggan. No one has scored more two-pointers than the star goalkeeper from Monaghan – 26 in 2025 and 11 in 2026. The best of the lot, at least in terms of significance, was his two-pointer in extra-time to seal a remarkable victory over Derry in this year’s Ulster Senior Championship semi-final.

=1 Pat Havern (37)

DOWN forward Pat Havern has also fired over 37 two-pointers since the introduction of the arc. And like Beggan, he fared better on this particular front in 2025. He scored 24 two-pointers in 2025, and raised 13 orange flags this season. From early on it was evident he was suited to the new rule – an RTÉ article in late February 2025 said that “The Saval man is a noted full-forward who often switched to midfield for periods of games, but around that arc area he is causing mayhem right now.”

3 Sam Mulroy (36)

IN third place is Louth stalwart Sam Mulroy – but only just. He’s scored 36 two-pointers for the Wee County over the course of the 2025 and 2026 seasons, though he did miss a couple – including that famous effort that dropped short and into the net against Armagh in the All-Ireland SFC race earlier this year with just second left on the clock. Okay, technically not a miss, but he sure didn’t mean it!

4 Mark Jackson (35)

WICKLOW goalkeeper Mark Jackson shot the lights out en route to their Tailteann Cup triumph, and in total he scored a whopping 27 two-pointers in the 2026 season. He actually took a while to get going in their Tailteann Cup win over Down, missing three early opportunities, but he eventually found his range, nailing a ‘45’ and a two-point free on a historic day for the Garden County.

5 David Clifford (33)

CLIFFORD has many areas of expertise, and among them is long-range shooting, so his presence on this list is no surprise. He shoots the lights out nearly every day he takes the field, but one particular score that stands out is his two-pointer on the stroke of half-time in the 2025 All-Ireland final win against Donegal. Donegal were already playing catch up, and the perfectly timed nature of Clifford’s late intervention was another signal that it was going to be Kerry’s day.

6 Luke Loughlin (32)

WESTMEATH’S Luke Loughlin would likely be even higher up the charts only he suffered a Grade 4C hamstring tear and tendon rupture against Meath in the Leinster Championship quarter-final back in April. He missed the rest of Westmeath’s campaign, though they still managed to win the Leinster title. He’s a fantastic footballer, and a fine hurler too.

7 Sean O’Shea (28)

KERRY stalwart Sean O’Shea had a somewhat troubled 2025 season due to his injury struggles, but he remains one of the best score-takers in the game and still plundered 12 two-pointers in the green and gold. And it’d be remiss not to mention a stupendous soccer-style two-pointer during Kerry’s win over Mayo in the league this year. There’s a first time for everything.

=8 Shane Walsh (26)

WALSH has a few detractors but on his day he’s one of the best in the business, and he scored 22 two-pointers in 2025 before a slightly quieter 2026. By March 2025, he’d scored 15 two-pointers, bettering every other player in Division One.

= 8 Diarmuid Murtagh (26)

ROSCOMMON’S all-time top scorer Diarmuid Murtagh makes the top 10, and he acknowledged his long-range shooting ability in an interview earlier this year, stating that “kicking is one of my strengths, I’m aware of that. So my role in the team is to get those things. But I suppose it’s about adapting too. You’re playing against players now and the two-pointer is great. But when you’re playing now, teams are aware of that from the league so they’re putting man-markers on you and they’re pushing out the field.”

10 Ryan O’Donoghue (Mayo)

MAN of the Match in the All-Ireland final Ryan O’Donoghue is much more than just a scoring forward, though he’s certainly not afraid to have a pop, and he fired over two two-pointers in the All-Ireland final. Both were crucial in their own way – the first helped stem the tide when Kerry were in the ascendancy early on, and the second opened up a bit of breathing space when Mayo were well and truly on the march in the second half. Kerry fought back but to no avail.