Michael Darragh MacAuley

Michael Darragh MacAuley is a Gaelic footballer who plays club football for Ballyboden St Enda's. He played at inter-county level for the Dublin county team from 2010 until 2020, winning eight All-Ireland medals.

With Ballyboden St Enda's, he won the 2016 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship. He also won the Dublin Senior Football championship (2009, 2015) and the Leinster Senior Football Club championship (2015). MacAuley was the 2013 GAA/GPA Footballer of the Year.

Playing career Club MacAuley plays his club football with Ballyboden St Enda's, with whom he won the Dublin Senior Football Championship in 2009.

Inter-county MacAuley made his senior football debut for Dublin against Wexford in the first round of the O'Byrne Cup; he scored a point on his debut. McAuley made his debut in the league against the 2009 All-Ireland Champions Kerry. He scored a decisive point in the game which assured the win for Dublin against Kerry.

MacAuley made his Championship debut as a substitute against Wexford in the 2010 Leinster Senior Football Championship. He made his second appearance against Meath in the semi-final of the Leinster football championship, a game in which Dublin were easily beaten by the Royals. MacAuley had his first start for Dublin against Tipperary in a second round qualifier for the All-Ireland Championship. He scored his first Championship goal and point in a game in which he finished with 1-01 of the final score of 1–21 to 1–13 at Croke Park. MacAuley scored a point in Dublin's eventual exit from that season's All-Ireland Championship at the semi-final stage.

MacAuley won his first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in September 2011, when Dublin beat Kerry at Croke Park. He wasn't surprised by the comeback nature of the game, saying: "We had been down before in matches. It wasn't the first time we were down. We actually had a training game the week before when the As played the Bs and it was a very similar situation". His second All-Ireland title came against Mayo in 2013, as did the GAA/GPA Footballer of the Year, when he succeeded Karl Lacey to the title.

On 21 January 2021, MacAuley announced his retirement from inter-county football.

Personal life After retiring from playing inter county football he visited Hikkaduwa - a surfing town on the south coast of Sri Lanka. During the Gaza war he and David Hickey formed a group called Dublin Footballers Support Palestine to advocate for Palestinians and to put pressure on the Irish Government to take a stronger stance against Israeli human rights abuses.

Honours Team Dublin All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (8): 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Leinster Senior Football Championship (10): 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 National Football League (5): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 O'Byrne Cup (1): 2015

Ballyboden St Enda's All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship (1): 2016 Leinster Senior Club Football Championship (2): 2015, 2019 Dublin Senior Football Championship (3): 2009, 2015, 2019

Individual All Star Awards (2): 2011, 2013 The Sunday Game Player of the Year (1): 2013 GAA/GPA Footballer of the Year (1): 2013