Cian Healy (born 7 October 1987) is an Irish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

rugby player. He plays for

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 ...

, and has also won over 100 caps for the

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

national team. He was named as part of the Lions squad for the 2013

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

tour to Australia, but withdrew due to injury playing only twice. He was educated in

Belvedere College Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business. History Belvedere owes its origin ...

, Dublin and won a

Leinster Schools Senior Cup The Leinster Schools Senior Challenge Cup is the premier rugby union competition for secondary schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the IRFU. First held in 1887, the competition celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2007. Attendances are h ...

medal in 2005. He is registered to Clontarf who play in All-Ireland League.

Leinster

Healy made his Leinster debut at 19 years old in the 2006–07 season against

Border Reivers Border reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border ...

, when he came of the bench. He transitioned to first choice at his position for Leinster in the 2008–09 season. When as a 21-year-old, Healy was a key part of the

team that won the 2009 Heineken Cup in a 19–16 win against

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

. As a 23-year-old he also played a key part of the

2011 Heineken Cup Final Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *'' ...

winning team who beat

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

33–22. Following that up with another

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

win the following season, 2011–12, against provincial rivals

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 ...

42–14. Healy continued to be a key player for Leinster in the following seasons, but struggled with a series of injuries, nearly retiring in the summer of 2015 after a neck injury. However he managed to return to playing for Leinster, and after losing 10 kilos, regained his position as first choice in the 2017–2018 season, where he played a key role in Leinster winning its fourth European Cup against

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name to ...

, along with winning the

Pro14 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 ...

for the first time against the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

. Healy is a member of an elite group of players to have won the European Cup four times, alongside teammates,

Devin Toner Devin Toner (born 29 June 1986) is a former professional rugby player. He played in the second-row for Ireland and the Irish province Leinster. Measuring 6' 10" in height, he was the tallest player in the Heineken Cup and the 2015 Rugby World ...

Johnny Sexton Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton (born 11 July 1985) is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Leinster Rugby and Ireland, and he also captains both teams. He represented the British & Irish Lions in both 2013 and 2017 and has scored o ...

and

Isa Nacewa Isakeli "Isa" Nacewa (born 22 July 1982) is a former rugby union player and coach. Born in New Zealand of Fijian descent, he represented the Fiji national team, winning one cap in 2003. Nacewa was a utility back who played for the Blues in t ...

Ireland A

Healy was called into the Ireland A side that was defeated by

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...

on 1 February 2008. On 21 June 2009, he was part of the Ireland 'A' team that won the 2009 Churchill Cup against England Saxons by 49–22 in the final in Colorado.

Ireland

He was called up to the

squad for the

2008 Six Nations Championship The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship. Fifteen ...

, but did not play. In November 2009, he made his international debut in the test against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 ...

, and was praised afterwards by coach

Declan Kidney Declan Kidney (born 20 October 1959) is an Irish rugby union coach. He was the head coach of the Ireland national rugby union team from 2008 to 2013, where he won the 2009 Six Nations with a Grand Slam, winning the 2009 IRB Coach of the Year aw ...

for his performance. Healy also played against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He made his

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

debut against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Healy also started in Ireland's games against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Healy was named Man of the Match in a bruising encounter on 17 September 2011, when Ireland defeated Australia 15–6 at the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

in Eden Park. Healy was cited to appear before a disciplinary hearing in London on 13 February 2013, where he received a three-week suspension for stamping on the ankle of opponent player Dan Cole during

's second round encounter with

in the

. Healy was a key member of the Grand Slam winning Ireland team during the 2017–2018 Six Nations. Starting four of the five games including the decider against England in Twickenham. Healy scored a try against France in the final game of the 2020 Six Nations as he reached 100 caps for Ireland.

Statistics

International analysis by opposition

''Updated as of 19 November 2022.''

Honours

;Leinster *

(4): 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12 2017–18 *

(7): 2007–08, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

(1): 2012–13 ;Ireland A *

Churchill Cup The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams (originally one and later three) from a wide arr ...

(1):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

;Ireland *

(3):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

*Grand Slam (1):

*Triple Crown (2):

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

;Lions *Lions tours (1): 2013

Other pursuits

Healy has painted portraits of fellow rugby players. He is also a DJ, calling himself DJ Church, performing at both Oxegen 2010 and

Oxegen 2011 Oxegen 2011 was the eighth Oxegen festival to take place since 2004. It took place on the weekend of Friday 8 July, Saturday, 9 July and Sunday, 10 July at Punchestown Racecourse near Naas in County Kildare, Ireland. Arctic Monkeys, Beyoncé ...

in the Electric Ballroom with his band partner DJ Gordo.

References

External links

Leinster profileIreland profilePro14 profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Healy, Cian 1987 births Living people Clontarf FC players Ireland international rugby union players Irish rugby union players Leinster Rugby players People educated at Belvedere College Rugby union props British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players People from Clontarf, Dublin