Cian Kelleher (born 7 August 1994) is an Irish professional rugby union player. He primarily plays on the wing or at

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

. Kelleher currently plays for Ealing Trailfinders in the RFU Championship. After initially coming through Leinster's academy, Kelleher had a three-year spell with Irish rivals Connacht, before returning to Leinster for the 2019–20 season. Kelleher has represented Ireland internationally in Sevens. He played for the Ireland under-20s in the 2014 Under-20 Six Nations and at the 2014 Junior World Championship, scoring three tries in nine appearances. Kelleher made his first appearance for the Irish senior side in an uncapped match against the Barbarians on 28 May 2015.

Early life

Kelleher was born in

Sandymount Sandymount () is an affluent coastal suburb in the Dublin 4 district on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. Etymology An early name for the area was Scal'd Hill or Scald Hill.

in County Dublin. He attended St Michael's College, where he played rugby for the school side. Kelleher was part of the St Michael's side that won the Leinster Senior Cup in 2012, and reached the final in 2013. After finishing secondary school, Kelleher attended University College Dublin where he studied economics.

Club career

Leinster

Kelleher came through the Leinster academy system. He was late to join the youth setup however, being recognised for Irish under-18 level before having played for his province at any level. He joined the Leinster academy in the 2014–15 season, and made his debut in the final game of that season, when he came on as a replacement against Edinburgh in the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

. In the 2015–16 season, Kelleher played six times with all but one of these appearances being from the bench. He scored his first try for the side against

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...

on 12 February 2016. In May 2016, it was announced that Kelleher was leaving Leinster to join provincial rivals Connacht, having turned down a senior contract.

Connacht

Kelleher joined Connacht ahead of the 2016–17 season. He made his debut on the first day of the season, starting against Glasgow Warriors in the

on 3 September 2016. He scored his first try for Connacht on 30 September 2016 against Edinburgh. Kelleher made his European debut on 15 October 2016, when he started against Toulouse in the Champions Cup. He was playing regularly for Connacht until he tore his hamstring against

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. T ...

in December 2016, which severely interrupted his season. Kelleher ultimately made a total of 14 appearances in his debut season, scoring six tries. Following his recovery from injury, Kelleher was able to play more regularly in his second season. He played 18 times between the Pro14 and the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

, scoring three tries. In March 2018, it was announced that Kelleher had signed an extension to his Connacht deal. He had his most successful season with the side in 2018–19 season, appearing 17 times in the Pro14 and scoring five tries. Kelleher also started four of the team's six group games in the

and the quarter-final against

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

. In January 2019, it was announced that Kelleher would leave Connacht after three seasons with the province. He made a total of 54 appearances in his time with the side, scoring 14 tries.

Return to Leinster

It was announced on 8 January 2019 that Kelleher would be re-joining Leinster ahead of the 2019–20 season.

Ealing Trailfinders

On 28 May 2021, it was confirmed that Kelleher travelled to England to sign for Ealing Trailfinders in the RFU Championship from the 2021-22 season.

International career

Kellher has represented Ireland internationally in Sevens. He played for the under-18 side before he had represented Leinster at under-age level. Kelleher later played for the Ireland under-20 side. He made nine appearances and scored three tries in his time with the team, featuring in both the 2014 Under-20 Six Nations and 2014 Junior World Championship. In May 2015, Kelleher was selected for an squad to play against the Barbarians. He was named on the bench for the uncapped match, and played the last five minutes of the game after coming on as a late replacement for

Collie O'Shea Collie O'Shea (born 19 January 1991) is an Irish rugby union player. His plays as a centre and played club rugby for Clontarf. Leinster On 9 February 2012, O'Shea made his competitive debut for Leinster, starting against Benetton Treviso in a ...

References

External links

Leinster profilePro14 profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelleher, Cian Living people 1994 births Connacht Rugby players Irish rugby union players Lansdowne Football Club players Leinster Rugby players Rugby union players from Dublin (city) Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club players People from Sandymount Irish expatriate rugby union players in England Ireland international rugby sevens players