Gearóid McKiernan (born 17 September 1990) is an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er who plays for the Cavan county team. He plays with the Cavan Gaels club, and formerly with his home club

Swanlinbar Swanlinbar () is a small village on the N87 national secondary road in north-west County Cavan, Ireland, close to the Cladagh river and near the Fermanagh border. The village is situated in the townlands of Furnaceland and Hawkswood, in th ...

Playing career

Club

Swanlinbar

McKiernan joined the Swanlinbar club at a young age and played at all grades underage. McKiernan was on the Swanlinbar team in 2006 that won the

Cavan Junior Football Championship The Cavan Junior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by lower-tier Cavan GAA clubs. It was first competed for in 1913. The winner qualifies to represent their county in the Ulster Club Championship and in tu ...

. Swanlinbar reached the Junior final again in 2009, but were beaten by Butlersbridge. The following year Swanlinbar were back in the Junior Final, where they faced 2006 runners-up Munterconnaught. McKiernan won his second Junior Championship medal and was named man of the match in the final. Swanlinbar later progressed to the final of the

Ulster Junior Club Football Championship The Ulster Junior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by Ulster Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is played between the Junior championship winners from each of the nine counties of Ulster. The compe ...

, where they faced

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

champions Corduff. Corduff won the final by five points. However it was later revealed that Corduff played an ineligible player, and after an appeal Swanlinbar were crowned Ulster Junior Champions. Swanlinbar later played

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

's Ballinabrackey in the All-Ireland semi-final, winning by 0-5 to 0-4. Swanlinbar faced St Mary's of Kerry in the final at

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) 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 headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

on 12 February 2011. Swanlinbar were outclassed in the final and fell to a fourteen-point defeat.

Cavan Gaels

In late 2019, McKiernan transferred from Swanlinbar to Cavan Gaels ahead of the 2020 season. On 31 July 2022, McKiernan was in the full forward line as the Gaels faced

Crosserlough Crosserlough (), historically known as ''Cros Ar Loch'', is a large civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in southern County Cavan in Ireland. It is located between Ballyjamesduff and Lough Sheelin. The parish consists of the village of Kilna ...

in the league final. McKiernan scored 3-14 but came out on the losing side, with Crosserlough winning by 6-18 to 4-23 after extra-time.

Inter-county

Minor and under-21

McKiernan first played for Cavan at minor level, however he had no success at this grade. McKiernan later progressed to the Under-21 team. On 7 April 2010, McKiernan lined out at midfield in a 2-8 to 0-7 defeat in the Ulster Final against Donegal. McKiernan captained the side in the 2011 season. Cavan once again reached the Ulster Final, this time against Tyrone. On 13 April 2011, McKiernan scored 2 points from midfield in the final as Cavan secured their first under-21 title since 1996. Cavan defeated

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

in the All-Ireland semi-final later that week to reach the final against

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. On 1 May 2011, McKiernan captained Cavan from midfield in the All-Ireland final. Cavan were outclassed on the day and fell to a 2-16 to 1-9 defeat.

Senior

McKiernan joined the senior squad after the under-21 success in 2011. On 12 June 2011, McKiernan scored a point on his championship debut in an Ulster quarter-final defeat by Donegal. McKiernan missed the entirety of Cavan's 2013 season with a

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...

injury. On 27 April 2014, McKiernan was at midfield as Cavan faced

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

Division 3 Final. McKiernan scored 0-2 but Roscommon were winners on a 1-17 to 0-18 scoreline. McKiernan captained Cavan in the 2016 season. On 3 April, McKiernan scored five points against

in the National League as Cavan earned promotion to the top flight for the first time in 15 years. McKiernan started the Division 2 Final against Tyrone on 24 April, scoring three points in the five-point defeat. Cavan faced Roscommon in the National League Division 2 Final on 1 April 2018. McKiernan scored a point in the 4–16 to 4–12 loss. On 9 June 2019, Cavan faced

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

in the Ulster semi-final replay. McKiernan scored three points from play as Cavan reached their first Ulster Final since 2001. On 23 June 2019, McKiernan started at midfield in the Ulster Final against Donegal. McKiernan scored six points, but Donegal ran out five-point winners. On 22 November 2020, Cavan met Donegal in the Ulster Final for the second year in a row. McKiernan started at centre forward and scored two points as Cavan won their first title since 1997. McKiernan scored a point in the All-Ireland semi-final loss

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

on 5 December. McKiernan was nominated for an All-Star award for the first time at the end of the season. On 2 April 2022, McKiernan started the National League Division 4 final against Tipperary at Croke Park, and scored a point in the 2-10 to 0-15 win. McKiernan started the inaugural Tailteann Cup final against

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

on 9 July. McKiernan scored 3 points but Westmeath finished strongly and came out four-point winners. McKiernan was named on the Tailteann Cup Team of the Year at the end of the season.

Personal life

He married Cavan ladies' footballer Donna English on 9 June 2021.

Career Statistics

Honours

Cavan *

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

* National Football League Division 3:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

* National Football League Division 4:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Ulster Under-21 Football Championship The Ulster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Ulster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest in ...

: 2011 ( c) Swanlinbar *

: 2010 *

: 2006, 2010 Individual *

Tailteann Cup The Tailteann Cup is a Gaelic football competition held annually since 2022 and organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is contested by those county teams, which, in the given year, have not otherwise qualified for the All-Ireland ...

Team of the Year: 2022 * ''Irish News'' Ulster All-Star: 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKiernan, Gearóid 1990 births Living people Cavan Gaels Gaelic footballers Cavan inter-county Gaelic footballers