Austin Gleeson (born 27 June 1995) is an Irish hurler who plays for Waterford Senior Championship club Mount Sion and at inter-county level with the Waterford senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a centre-forward but can also be deployed as a centre-back. He is one of the two hurlers to ever win young hurler of the year and hurler of the year in the same year, with him winning the honours at the age of 21 in 2016 and Tony Kelly being the first to accomplish the achievement at the age of 19 in 2013. He is the younger brother of Jessica Gleeson, the Republic of Ireland women's national team soccer player.

Playing career

De La Salle College

Gleeson first came to prominence as a hurler with De La Salle College. He played in every grade of hurling before eventually joining the college's senior hurling team and lined out in several Harty Cup campaigns.

Waterford Institute of Technology

As a student at the

Waterford Institute of Technology The Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Phort Láirge) was an institute of technology, located in Waterford, Ireland. The institute had six constituent schools and offered programmes in business, engineerin ...

, Gleeson joined the senior hurling team during his second year. On 1 March 2015, he was selected at left wing-forward when WIT faced the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accordance w ...

in the Fitzgibbon Cup final. Gleeson spent much of the game at full-forward and score a point from a sideline cut in the 0-21 to 3-12 draw. He retained his position for the replay on 11 March but was forced off with a hamstring injury after just four minutes in the 2-18 to 1-14 defeat.

Mount Sion

Gleeson joined the Mount Sion club when he was 8-year-old and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels, winning championship medals in the under-14 and under-16 grades. He made his first appearance for the club's senior team during the 2012 Waterford Championship. On 5 October 2014, Gleeson lined out at centre-back when Mount Sion faced

Ballygunner Ballygunner ( ga, Baile Gunnair), is a civil parish in County Waterford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies on the southern outskirts of Waterford city. The placename is derived, in part, from the Old Norse masculine personal name ''Gunnarr' ...

in the Waterford Senior Championship final. He ended the game on the sideline after receiving two yellow cards in the 2-16 to 0-09 defeat.

Waterford

Minor and under-21

Gleeson first lined out for

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

as a member of the minor team during the 2012 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 2 May when he was introduced as a 45th-minute substitute in a 1-20 to 3-13 defeat of Clare. Gleeson was again eligible for the minor grade in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

and joined the starting fifteen as a centre-back. On 14 July, he scored 0-03, including two frees, in a 2-19 apiece draw with

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

in the Munster final. Gleeson retained his position at centre-back for the replay on 23 July, however, he ended on the losing side following a 1-20 to 4-08 defeat. On 8 September, he scored a point from a free when Waterford defeated

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

by 1-21 to 0-16 in the

All-Ireland final The All-Ireland Final may refer to: * All-Ireland Hurling Final, the last match to be played in the All-Ireland Hurling Championship (Senior, Minor and Under-21 levels) * The last match to be played in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship ...

. Gleeson joined the Waterford under-21 team in advance of the 2014 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 16 July 2014 and top scored for Waterford with 0-07 in a 3-18 to 0-16 defeat by

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. After a disappointing 2015 Munster Championship, Gleeson was selected for the under-21 team for a third successive season in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. On 27 July, he scored 0-05 from centre-back and claimed the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

award after a 2-19 to 0-15 defeat of

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

in the Munster final. On 10 September, Gleeson won an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

medal after scoring 0-02 from centre-back in a 5-15 to 0-14 defeat of Galway in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

. He ended the season by being named in the centre-back position on the Team of the Year.

Senior

Gleeson was added to the Waterford senior panel prior to the start of the 2014 National League. He made his first appearance for the team on 23 March 2014 when he lined out at left corner-forward in a 4-22 to 0-14 defeat by Kilkenny. Gleeson made his

Munster Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurlin ...

debut on 25 May 2014 when he scored 1-02 from left wing-forward in a 1-21 apiece draw with Cork. On 3 May 2015, Gleeson was named at centre-back but played much of the game at right wing-back when Waterford faced Cork in the National League final. He scored 0-02 and collected a winners' medal following the 1-24 to 0-17 victory. On 12 July 2015, Gleeson scored 0-02 from right wing-back when Waterford were beaten for the fourth time in six seasons by Tipperary in the Munster final. He ended the season by being nominated for an All-Star. On 1 May 2016, Gleeson was at centre-back when Waterford lined out in the National League final. He scored 0-02 before being substituted in the 63rd minute as Waterford drew 0-22 apiece with Clare. Gleeson switched to centre-forward and scored 0-03 in the replay, which Waterford lost by 1-23 to 2-19. On 10 July, he scored 0-02 from left corner-forward when Waterford suffered a 5-19 to 0-13 defeat by Tipperary in the Munster final. Gleeson ended the season by becoming only the second player ever to win the Hurler of the Year and Young Hurler of the Year awards in the same year. He also claimed the centre-forward berth on the All-Star team. On 3 September 2017, Gleeson was named at centre-forward when Waterford faced

in the

. He ended the game as a runner-up following Galway's 0-26 to 2-17 victory. Gleeson ended the season by securing a third successive All-Star nomination. Gleeson's 2018 season was blighted by a series of injuries. A pulled quad hampered him during the early rounds of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

while he also suffered an infected cut on his ankle. Just before the start of the

he sustained a hamstring injury after playing just 14 minutes of a club game with Mount Sion. On 31 March 2019, Gleeson was named at midfield but lined out at centre-forward when Waterford faced Limerick in the National League final. He scored 0-02, including a point from a sideline, in the 1-24 to 0-19 defeat.

Career statistics

Honours

;Mount Sion *Waterford Junior Football Championship (2): 2018, 2021 ;Waterford * National Hurling League (1): 2015 *

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (G ...

(1):

Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Munster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-c ...

(1):

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). I ...

(1):

;Awards *

All Stars Hurler of the Year The GAA–GPA All-Star Hurler of the Year is a hurling award presented to the player voted as best in the country by all the players from around Ireland. It began in 1995 and honours the achievements of a hurler of outstanding excellence. ...

(1): 2016 *

All Stars Young Hurler of the Year The Gaelic Athletic Association/Gaelic Players Association Young Hurler of the Year (known for sponsorship reasons as the PwC GAA/GPA Young Hurler of the Year, or simply the Young Hurler of the Year) is an annual award given to the player aged 21 ...

(1): 2016 *

GAA GPA All Stars Awards The Gaelic Athletic Association-Gaelic Players' Association All Stars Awards (often known simply as the All Stars) are awarded annually to the best player in each of the 15 playing positions in Gaelic football and hurling. Additionally, one playe ...

(1): 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleeson, Austin 1995 births Living people Alumni of Waterford Institute of Technology Irish engineers Mount Sion hurlers Waterford inter-county hurlers Waterford IT hurlers