Conal Keaney (born 24 September 1982) is an Irish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

er and hurler who played for

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and Ballyboden St Enda's. He was educated in Terenure College.

Football career

He was part of the

side that won the

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship The GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association ( ...

in 2003. He made his senior debut for

Football during the 2005 NFL campaign. Keaney was announced in the International Rules team to play in Australia but had to opt out due to an ankle injury. In first full term as a Dublin football player in 2005, he was part of the

team that won the

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ...

against

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...

. He opted out of the football team in 2011 to rejoin the hurling team.

2006

Despite a late return to county football in the 2006

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

he finished the league as the second highest scorer with a score of 2-12 (0-6f). In his opening game in the Championship for

in the

quarter final, he is regarded as single-handedly winning the game for

. In what proved to be a poor Dublin performance, Keaney scored a 0-8 (0-6f) against

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

in a game that sent

into the

Semi-Final against

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

. His form continued against

as Keaney added another 0-06 (2f), as

strolled into the Leinster final. Conal Keaney (for football) and

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 ...

hurling star John Gardiner were named as the Vodafone Players of the Month for June 2006. Keaney won a Leinster senior football medal with

in their victory in the final in 2006. At club level, Keaney made it to the fourth round of the

Dublin Senior Football Championship The Dublin Senior Football Championship (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the '' Go-Ahead'' Dublin Senior Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition between the top Dublin GAA clubs. The winners of the ...

with

Ballyboden St Endas Ballyboden St Enda's (''CLG Baile Buadáin Naomh Éanna'' in Irish) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Knocklyon, South Dublin, Ireland. The Club serves the Rathfarnham, Knocklyon, Ballycullen, Ballyboden, Ballyroan, Firhouse ...

, losing to southside rivals

Kilmacud Crokes Kilmacud Crokes ( ir, Cill Mochuda Na Crócaigh) is a large Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Stillorgan, Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Background Kilmacud GAA club was formed in 1959 following a historic public meeting in Saint ...

. In October 2006 Conal was called up to represent

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

in the

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

. Keaney scored 1-03 against

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

in the

semi-final, sending

to the final for a second year in a row. He has been nominated for an all-star for his 2006 performances in the half forward line. Keaney was on the winning team for

in the Martin Donnelly Cup final against

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

scoring (0-4, 3 frees).

2007

He won the 2007

O'Byrne Cup The Bord na Móna O'Byrne Cup is a Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster GAA and first staged in 1954. The competition is named after Matt Byrne, a former Wicklow GAA club and county officer. By virtue of a quirk in translation, ...

for Dublin against

O'Connor Park O'Connor Park ( ga, Páirc Uí Chonchúir) is a GAA stadium in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland. It is one of the principal grounds of the Offaly GAA Gaelic football and hurling teams. It is known for sponsorship reasons as Bord na Móna ...

in Offaly. The game finished on a scoreline of 1-18 to 2-13 against Laois. he finished the tournament with 0-12 (0-4f). Conal was the highest scoring player in the Dublin Senior team in the Allianz league, he scored 1-18 (0-8f). Conal scored 0-5 (0-4f) in the opening match of the 2007 Lenster Championship against Meath. The game finished all level with Keaney scoring the crucial point that earned

their draw. In the replay Keaney scored a total of 0-4 (0-3f) and Dublin progressed to the semi final. The semi final proved a much easier test for Dublin and scored 3 points in Dublins victory over

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

. Keaney won a

medal in Dublins 2007 final victory over

2008

Conal won his second Dublin Senior Hurling Championship medal in 2008.

2009

Keaney won a

medal for Ballyboden St Enda's in 2009 against St Judes in

Parnell Park Parnell Park is a GAA stadium in Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland with a capacity of 8,500. It is the home of the Dublin GAA hurling, football, camogie and ladies' football teams at all levels of competition. The ground is used by Dublin's inter ...

. He then won a Dublin Senior Club Hurling Championship medal, his third in a row, when Ballyboden St Endas beat Craobh Chiaráins in the final. He crowned off a great season by being nominated as Dublin Footballer of the Year. Keaney also won a

medal with Dublin in 2009 at

. His 2009 season finished with speculation that he may return to inter county hurling. He confirmed in January 2010 that he would remain with the football panel for 2010.

2010

Early in 2010 Keaney announced that he would stay with the Football squad for the 2010 season. He was however utilised mainly as a substitute for the 2010 season. He won a fourth SHC club title with Ballyboden

Hurling

Keaney is also renowned as a great

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

player and was a dual-county player for

, he decided to concentrate on

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

in 2005, and opted out of the Dublin Hurling squad in 2005. This dealt a double blow to the Dublin Hurling squad as David O'Callaghan made a similar decision

Keaney amazingly received nomination for an All-star in 2003 despite Dublin GAA, Dublins lack of progress in the Championship. Also in 2003, Keaney was part of the

side that shocked Leinster hurling by beating

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

in the 2003 Walsh Cup, Keaney scored a point in the game. He rejoined the hurling team in 2011. Keaney played for

in the 2006

Dublin Senior Hurling Championship The Dublin Senior Hurling Championship ( ga, Craobh Sinsear Iomána Átha Cliath) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association ( GAA) since 1887 for the top hurling clubs in County Dubl ...

, losing to Craobh Chiaráin in the final. Keaney won his first

medal with his club

in October 2007. The Dublin championship win qualified Ballyboden to play in their first ever

Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship The Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association and conte ...

game against OULART-THE BALLAGH of

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

. Boden won the game by 1-17 to 0-15 with Keaney scoring a total of 0-03. Boden then went on to play in the Leinster semi final against

Camross Camross GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association Hurling and Gaelic football club in County Laois, Ireland, located near to Coolrain. History Founded in 1903, the club is the most successful hurling club in County Laois and the club colours are fa ...

and won the game by 2-09 to 1-11. Keaney scored a total of 0-02 in a game which gave Ballyboden their first ever Leinster final game which was held on 2 December 2007 against six-time champions Birr. Boden lost by 1 point.

Return to hurling

Early in 2011 Keaney, having sat out most of the 2010 season on the bench for the senior footballers, he finally declared his decision to opt off the Football squad and to return to the Hurling squad. In 2011, Keaney played a key role in Dublin's hurling resurgence, scoring 14 points, and winning 'Man of the Match', in Dublin's defeat of the reigning All-Ireland hurling champions, Tipperary, in February 2011. In July 2011, following a motorbike accident, Conal missed the quarter-final victory over Limerick in Semple stadium. Unfortunately, his season was over, despite the Dubs facing Tipperary in the semi-final. Conal Keaney is one of the only modern Galeic Footballers and Hurler to hold Railway Cups medals in both Hurling and Football Keaney returned to inter county hurling against

in the quarter finals of the 2012 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship. It proved a facile win for Dublin with a final score of 3-23 to 1-07. Keaney scored a total of 0-02 during his return to senior hurling action and Dublin progressed to the Leinster semi final against

. He announced his retirement from inter-county hurling ahead of the 2021 season.

Career statistics

National League appearances

Championship appearances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keaney, Conal 1982 births Living people Ballyboden St Enda's Gaelic footballers Ballyboden St Enda's hurlers Dual players Dublin inter-county Gaelic footballers Dublin inter-county hurlers