Ciarán Kilkenny

Ciarán Kilkenny
Personal information
Irish name Ciarán Mac Giolla Chainnigh
Sport Gaelic football
Position Centre forward
Born (1993-07-07) 7 July 1993 (age 31)
Dublin, Ireland
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Occupation Primary Teacher
Club(s)
Years Club
Castleknock
Club titles
Dublin titles 1
Leinster titles 1
Inter-county(ies)*
Years County Apps (scores)
2012–
Dublin 72 (7-146)
Inter-county titles
Leinster titles 12
All-Irelands 8
NFL 5
All Stars 6
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of match played 29 June 2024.

Ciarán Kilkenny (born 7 July 1993) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for the Dublin county team and as a dual player for his club Castleknock. He was previously on the playing list of Australian rules football club Hawthorn, as a rookie.[1]

He has featured on an advertising billboard campaign in India.[2]

Early life

[edit]

Kilkenny attended Scoil Oilibhéir in Clonsilla.[3]

Hurling

[edit]

Kilkenny represented Dublin at underage at several levels. Despite being previously offered a place on the Dublin senior hurling panel, he chose to dedicate his time solely to football. [citation needed]

Kilkenny does, however, still play hurling for his club, Castleknock.[citation needed]

Football

[edit]

Club

[edit]

Kilkenny won the Dublin Minor Football Championship with Castleknock in 2011.[4] He won the Dublin Junior Football Championship with Castleknock, his last medal before switching codes to Aussie rules.

Inter-county

[edit]

Minor/U21

[edit]

Kilkenny won the 2011 Leinster Minor Football Championship[5] and the Leinster Minor Hurling Championship with Dublin in 2011. He was on the losing side for both teams in the All-Ireland finals in 2011 at Croke Park.

Kilkenny was called up to the Dublin under 21 team in 2012. He won the Leinster Under 21 Football Championship with Dublin in March 2012. Ciaran scored a total of 1-07 in the Leinster final against Louth at Páirc Tailteann in Navan. The game finished on 1-16 to 0-08 with Dublin winning the game by a comfortable 11 point margin to become Leinster champions for the tenth time.[6] Ciaran Kilkenny scored a total of 2-25 (0-7f) for Dublin in the Leinster Championship.[7] Dublin went on to meet Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final at Portlaoise. Kilkenny scored just one point in a game in which Dublin won against the Munster champions. The game finished on a scoreline of 3-11 to 0-14.[8] Ciarán won the all-Ireland under 21 championship with Dublin against Connacht champions Roscommon in Tullamore. Kilkenny scored a total of four points in a close game against Roscommon which ended with heavy scoring from Dublin. The game finished on a scoreline of 2-12 to 1-11.[9]

Kilkenny was named the Cadbury's Hero of the Future for his performances with Dublin in 2012.[10]

Senior

[edit]

Kilkenny made his debut for the Dublin senior football team against Laois in the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship when he came on as a substitute for Diarmuid Connolly.[11] He made his first start for the Dublin senior football team against Mayo in the 2012 All-Ireland football semi-final defeat. He scored three points in the game.[12]

Move to AFL

[edit]

Kilkenny was linked to a possible move to Australia as a rookie in the Australian AFL.[13] Dublin football legend Dessie Farrell described the potential departure of Kilkenny to Australian football as "a huge loss".[14]

Hawthorn confirmed the signing on 29 September 2011, after Carlton had also tried to secure the 19-year-old's services. Kilkenny flew to Melbourne to visit Hawthorn officials at Waverley, and was scheduled to become the first Irishman to play at the club.[15] Recent changes to rookie list rules had made the recruitment of Irish players more appealing, with clubs now able to count one Irish player as an international rookie, meaning the player does not take up a main rookie spot.

After just four months and a return to Ireland for the Christmas, Kilkenny decided for personal reasons to remain in Ireland where he wished to pursue a career with Castleknock and Dublin.[16]

Return to Ireland

[edit]

Upon his return to the native soil, Kilkenny collected both the 2013 NFL title and 2013 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship title with Dublin. In March 2014, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament while fulfilling a Dublin football fixture at Croke Park against Kildare in a 2014 NFL, causing him to miss the rest of the season.[17]

[18]

By winning his sixth All Star in 2022, he drew level with Stephen Cluxton and became the Dublin player with the joint highest number of awards.[19]

International rules

[edit]

Kilkenny played twice for Ireland against Australia in the 2013 International Rules Series, and scored a goal in the second Test at Croke Park.[20][21]

Career statistics

[edit]
As of match played 28 June 2024
Team Year National League Leinster All-Ireland Total
Division Apps Score Apps Score Apps Score Apps Score
Dublin 2012 Division 1 - 2 0-03 2 0-03
2013 3 0-08 3 0-03 6 0-11
2014 DNP due to injury
2015 3 0-10 4 0-08 7 0-18
2016 3 0-04 4 0-01 7 0-05
2017 3 1-08 3 0-01 6 1-09
2018 3 2-15 4 0-09 7 2-24
2019 3 0-05 5 1-08 8 1-13
2020 3 1-13 2 0-07 5 1-20
2021 3 0-10 1 0-03 4 0-13
2022 3 1-06 2 0-06 5 1-12
2023 Division 2 3 1-08 5 0-02 8 1-10
2024 Division 1 3 0-05 4 0-03 7 0-08
Career total 33 6-92 39 1-54 72 7-146

Honours

[edit]
Dublin
Individual
  • All Star (6): 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "I'm eager to break Rules".
  2. ^ "Dublin star Ciarán Kilkenny seems surprised to be the face of a billboard campaign in India". Irish Independent. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  3. ^ Meagher, John (31 August 2019). "Lattes and lineballs: How the GAA conquered the Dublin suburbs". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Castleknock are Dublin Minor a Champions - HoganStand".
  5. ^ "DubZone | Dublin GAA's Online Community | Dublin GAA Newsletter".
  6. ^ "News".
  7. ^ "News".
  8. ^ "All-Ireland U21 FC semi-final: Dubs march on - HoganStand".
  9. ^ "All-Ireland U21 FC semi-final: Dubs march on - HoganStand".
  10. ^ "Dublin Under-21 star Ciarán Kilkenny honoured". RTÉ News. 23 May 2012.
  11. ^ "Dublin 1-12 Laois 0-12". RTÉ News. 4 August 2012.
  12. ^ "Dublin 0-16 Mayo 0-19". RTÉ News. 2 September 2012.
  13. ^ "Dubs starlet Kilkenny targeted by AFL club | News | eircom SportsHub". Archived from the original on 16 July 2012.
  14. ^ "Kilkenny would be a huge loss to Dublin football - Farrell".
  15. ^ "Hawks sign Irish star Kilkenny - AFL.com.au". Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  16. ^ "Ciarán Kilkenny leaves AFL club Hawthorn to return to Dublin". RTÉ News. 10 January 2013.
  17. ^ "Cruciate damage ends Ciarán Killenny's season". RTÉ Sport. RTÉ. 9 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  18. ^ McKeon, Conor (25 September 2019). "'There hasn't been that discussion' - Dublin not yet talking about possible retirements". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  19. ^ Roche, Frank (27 October 2022). "Kerry lead way as 11 rookie All Stars signal the changing landscape". Irish Independent.
  20. ^ "Ireland 57-35 Australia". RTÉ Sport. RTÉ. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  21. ^ "Ireland 116-37 Australia". RTÉ Sport. RTÉ. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
Awards
Preceded by U21 Footballer of the Year
2012
Succeeded by