Who is Rob Kearney? Irish rugby legend’s Louth roots from dairy farm childhood to GAA days

With a career of sporting achievements spanning decades, Rob Kearney’s journey from a humble dairy farm in Cooley, Co Louth to the heights of international rugby has impressed the nation.

Growing up in the Cooley Peninsula, Rob found himself playing sports from a young age. He played Gaelic football for Naomh Mhuire and Cooley Kickhams, later joining the senior football team at 17.

His rugby career began at Clongowes Wood College in Kildare, which he followed with a Bachelor of Arts degree from University College Dublin. Here Rob played on a sports scholarship and graduated in 2010.

As for a professional rugby career, Rob took off with Leinster after he debuted in 2005. He scored a hat-trick in his first game, a pre-season friendly win over Parma, and went on to become a cornerstone of the team.

His time with Leinster saw him scoop multiple titles, including four European Rugby Champions Cups and six Pro14 championships. The sportsman’s exceptional performance earned him the ERC Player of the Year in 2012.

The Irish man confirmed his departure from Leinster on 24 September 2020, and confirmed that he had signed a one-year contract with Australian side Western Force.

Following his retirement, Kearney returned to Louth GAA club Cooley Kickhams where he began training in August 2021 for the first time since 2005.

The Dundalk man is part of a close-knit family, with a brother, Dave, who also played for Leinster. He also has an older brother, Richard, and a sister, Sara, the youngest of the five children. Tragically, his elder brother Ross passed away in an accident in 1988. Ross spoke on an episode of the Late Late Show about his brother, and said that at six-years-old he was hit by a truck while crossing the road near the Kearney family home.

On the accident, Rob said he has no recollection of the incident as he was so young, agreeing that this absence of memory has been both a positive and a negative thing for him.

As far as his personal life goes, Rob married Jess Redden, pharmacist and influencer in 2021. The pair welcomed their first child, a son, Bobby Brian Kearney, in 2023. A fact which many may not know is Rob is a seventh cousin of US President Joe Biden.