Clonmore's Darragh Conway selected for Ireland's Tag Rugby World Cup squad

Carlow will be represented on the world stage this coming October at the 2026 International Tag Federation (ITF) Tag Rugby World Cup in Coffs Harbour, Australia, approximately halfway between Sydney and Brisbane.

37-year-old Clonmore native Darragh Conway has been earned a place in Ireland’s Mixed Seniors squad, which comprises of male players over 33 and female players over 30. More than 200 teams from over 30 countries will compete across men's, women's and mixed competitions.

“It's an absolute honour to be selected to represent Ireland at a World Cup. Australia is the home of the sport, and travelling there is a huge and very exciting challenge,” Conway said.

The Carlow man has been representing the Irish Tag Rugby team since 2022, but he told The Nationalist that he was late to take up the sport.

“I came through an unconventional route, I guess. I would have played the usual sports growing up in Carlow, apart from rugby actually, it was Gaelic football (with Clonmore) and soccer (with Parkville) locally. I played those sports growing up, pretty much until I left uni.

“I moved to London in 2017 and I was just looking to meet friends, meet people; didn't know anyone and just came across a free taster online, one of those things you get on Facebook. I thought I’d give it a go.

“It clicked straight away, both on the pitch - the skills from Gaelic football and soccer transfer over pretty easily - but also, most importantly at the time, it clicked off the pitch as well, the social aspect; the pub was really encouraged afterwards. I met a lot of like-minded people, a lot of Irish people as well, and it grew from there really. 

"I made a lot of good friends, and it's nice there's a competitive element as well where if you want to progress and compete at the highest level, you can.” 

Before travelling to Australia, Ireland will host Britain in the British and Irish Cup at UCD in early August, “providing an important opportunity to prepare for the World Cup,” according to the Irish Tag Rugby Association (ITRA).

The 2026 British and Irish Cup marks four years since Conway debuted for his country. He returned from London the following year to take up a position as Sports Development Officer with South Dublin County Council.

He has since made a significant impact on the sport here in Ireland, with the ITRA speaking highly of the Clonmore man, saying, “A Sports Development Officer, Darragh has built his career around encouraging participation in sport while continuing to pursue his own ambitions as an international athlete.

“His selection for Ireland reflects years of dedication to tag rugby and is a proud achievement for his home community of Clonmore and County Carlow.

“Darragh's selection is another example of local sporting talent reaching the international stage while continuing to inspire participation in sport through his professional work.” 

Having played in the ITF World Cup in 2023 – a tournament hosted here in Ireland at the University of Limerick – Conway had already ticked that box in his career, but he told The Nationalist that the lure of playing in Australia was too great to turn down.

“I played in Limerick in the World Cup, but it was too hard to turn - I've never been to Australia before; and obviously it’s very tough financially, but I suppose it was going to Australia, definitely, that kind of sealed it for me in terms of committing to another tournament.”