Cian O'Sullivan (born 27 March 1988) is a

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

Kilmacud Crokes Kilmacud Crokes () is a large Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Stillorgan, Dublin, Ireland. Background Kilmacud GAA club was formed in 1959 following a public meeting in Saint Laurence's Hall, where Stillorgan shopping centre no ...

club and previously at senior level for the Dublin county team.

Playing career

Club

O'Sullivan won his first

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 t ...

medal for

in 2008. He won a

Leinster Senior Club Football Championship The Leinster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played on a knockout basis between the senior club championship winners of the competing counties in Leinster. The current holders of the Leinster title are K ...

medal and an

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London. The current champions are Cuala of D ...

medal in 2009. He won a second Dublin title and a Leinster title in 2010 and a third Dublin title in 2018.

Inter-county

O'Sullivan made his inter-county debut for Dublin in 2009. He won his first

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

with Dublin in September 2011, defeating 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 ...

. He won the National Football League with Dublin 2013 playing in midfield at

against Tyrone. The game finished on a scoreline of 0–18 to 0–17. On 22 September 2013, he started in midfield for the All Ireland Final. He was a key performer in the game ultimately moving to corner back following an injury to

Jonny Cooper Jonathan Cooper (born 4 November 1989) is a dual player, who nowadays predominantly plays Gaelic footballer for the Na Fianna club and, formerly, for the Dublin county football team. Cooper played hurling at schoolboy and minor level. First pl ...

in Dublin's defeat of Mayo on a scoreline of 2–12 to 1–14. He won his first all star at

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

following displays of versatility throughout the year. O'Sullivan was crucial to Dublin's success in 2015. Following defeat to Donegal in 2014, manager Jim Gavin deployed him as a "sweeping centre back", responsible for shoring up Dublin's defense against leaking goals. He became the lynchpin of Dublin's team with his reading of the game, calmness in possession and athleticism key to Dublin conceding only 4 goals in their 7 championship games played, of which Dublin kept 4 clean sheets. Despite suffering a hamstring injury in the final minutes of the semi-final replay defeat of Mayo, O'Sullivan started the final where Dublin defeated reigning champions Kerry 0–12 to 0-09, playing just over an hour of the game. He received his second All Star award at centre back. He was again a key performer in 2016 as Dublin retained both their National League and Leinster titles. He also played a key role as the Dubs defeated Mayo by a single point after a replay on a scoreline of 1–15 to 1–14 to retain the

Sam Maguire Cup The Sam Maguire Cup (), often referred to as Sam or The Sam, is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the main competition in the sport of Gaelic fo ...

. In 2017, Dublin were narrowly defeated in the National League final by Kerry by a single point. They then went on to win a record 7 Leinster titles in a row. On 17 September, O'Sullivan was heavily involved as Dublin claimed a historic 3 in a row All Ireland titles with another narrow 1–17 to 1–16 victory against Mayo. Having been outplayed in the first half, the Dubs turned the game around to win a thrilling game courtesy of a 75th minute

Dean Rock Dean Rock (born 26 February 1990) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who was a senior member of the Dublin county team from 2013 to 2023. He has represented Dublin at all grades, Minor, Junior, U21 and Senior. He is a noted free taker and scored t ...

free. O'Sullivan won his third all star following his displays. In June 2021, O'Sullivan announced his retirement from inter-county football.

Honours

;Dublin *

(8): 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 *

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 GAA, Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Asso ...

(10): 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 *

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(5): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 ;Kilmacud Crokes *

(3): 2008, 2010, 2018 *

(2): 2008, 2010 *

(1): 2009 ;Individual *

All Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

(3): 2013, 2015, 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OSullivan, Cian 1988 births Living people All Stars Awards winners (football) Dublin inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic football backs Kilmacud Crokes Gaelic footballers Winners of eight All-Ireland medals (Gaelic football) 21st-century Irish sportsmen