This is mistaken. Check out
this page.
ADS-B is a continuous broadcast by ADS-B Out equipped aircraft, and is also broadcast by equipped airports (which is most with a manned tower). Aircraft with ADS-B Out also forward traffic data for other aircraft detected with ADS-B reception.
It is not a collision avoidance or warning system. It's really just a cheap, less functional and less reliable substitute for radar in applications (like small drones) where radar is impractical. It's also part of a broader FAA initiative called NextGen with the objective of moving from radar to aircraft self-reporting location, altitude, speed, and other flight data, providing full coverage in US airspace when fully transitioned.
In the US, ADS-B Out has been required in aircraft to fly in class A, B, and C airspace since January 2020, so it is almost certain those two 747s were capable of broadcasting ADS-B, even if they don't fly in US airspace.
Don't know if it's required in Ireland. If not, it certainly could have been switched off in those jumbos. Also, a DJI drone compared to a manned aircraft has weak, crappy antennas, and just like your drone disconnects at 1000m, a plane broadcasting ADS-B passing over you at 600kph, even as low as 1000m, will only have that signal in range of your weak drone antennas for a second or two, and can be easily missed, garbled, incomplete, etc.
In contrast to this, I fly within about 10 miles from the Watsonville Airport often, and once 150ft in the air, the airport is unobstructed line-of-sight. They're broadcasting a strong ADS-B signal, and I see traffic in the area on my AirSense equipped drones all the time.