Gavin Kilkenny (born 1 February 2000) is an Irish footballer who plays as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

Early life

Raised in Beaumont, a northern suburb of

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 ...

, Kilkenny started out his footballing career at St Kevin's Boys, a schoolboy team with several notable graduates, such as

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, Dara O'Shea,

Robbie Brady Robert Brady (born 14 January 1992) is an Irish professional association football, footballer who plays as a left winger, left-back or left wing-back for club Preston North End F.C., Preston North End and the Republic of Ireland national footba ...

and

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. Kilkenny left home at the age of 16 to join AFC Bournemouth, having excelled as a youngster at Gaelic football and hurling.

Club career

AFC Bournemouth

Kilkenny joined AFC Bournemouth at the age of sixteen. He moved into the club's under-21 squad after serving a two-year scholarship in the under-18s and was quickly elevated to the first team in the summer of 2019, having signed his first professional contract in April 2018. Kilkenny starred and scored in an impressive 3–0 pre-season friendly win over

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, being named man-of-the-match. He made his debut for the club starting in a 0–0 draw against

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...

in the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

on 28 August 2019. He then appeared in the following round, starting in a 2–0 away loss to

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

. Kilkenny made his first appearance of the 2023–2024 season for Bournemouth in their 5-0

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

defeat of

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

on 25 January 2024, when he came on as a 57th minute substitute for the injured James Hill.

Stoke City, Charlton Athletic & Fleetwood Town loans

On 2 July 2022, Kilkenny joined

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

on loan for the 2022–23 season. He only made four appearances for Stoke and returned to Bournemouth in January 2023. On the 31 January 2023, Kilkenny joined

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

on loan for the rest of the 2022–23 season. On the 1 February 2024, Kilkenny joined

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...

on loan for the rest of the 2023–24 season.

Swindon Town

Kilkenny joined League Two side

on 30 August 2024.

International career

Kilkenny is a youth international for the Republic of Ireland, having experience playing in the U18s squads and the U21s.

Career statistics

Honours

AFC Bournemouth *

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

runner-up: 2021–22

References

External links

Gavin Kilkenny
at

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

(archived) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kilkenny, Gavin 2000 births Living people Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football midfielders AFC Bournemouth players Stoke City F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players English Football League players Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England People educated at St Aidan's C.B.S. St. Kevin's Boys F.C. players 21st-century Irish sportsmen