Mullingar’s Conor Gilsenan retires from pro rugby

Mullingar man Conor Gilsenan has announced his retirement from professional rugby.

The London Irish flanker, who returned to Ireland prior to the Covid-19 lockdown, said in a statement tonight that his career had come to an end due to his ongoing struggles against injury, which have kept him out of the sport since November.

“It’s not the way I ever wanted to finish but I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have been given the opportunity to achieve my ‘dream job’ growing up,” said the 27-year-old, who started his career with Leinster before ending up in London via Connacht.

“I leave the game with memories to last me a lifetime, team mates who have become best friends and life lessons that that I believe will stand me in good stead for the next chapter of my life.”

Conor paid tribute to his parents, Con and Joan, for their “steadfast support and for everything they sacrificed” to allow him to chase his dreams.

“One of the best parts of it all was seeing how proud it made you on the good days,” he said.

“To all the boys I shared a dressing room with, coaches who believed in me, medics who looked after me, mentors, my girlfriend Megan, the people from home that followed my career with great interest, extended family and anyone else who supported me along the way. Thank you so much.”

Gilsenan’s coach at London Irish, Declan Kidney, said today: “Conor is everything that is good about London Irish, always very welcoming, positive, and determined.

“In a club of Exiles, he welcomed everyone with open arms and as hard as he worked on the pitch, where he gave every minute everything he had, he did likewise off the pitch by continually looking out for his fellow players and clubmates.

“All at London Irish thank Conor for his dedicated service and wish him the very best for his future.”

Gilsenan, a former Clongowes Wood College and UCD student, spent three years with Leinster’s academy after playing in Mullingar RFC’s underage ranks. In 2011, he captained Clongowes to Leinster Schools Senior Cup success.

Capped for Ireland at U20 level, he left Leinster in 2013 for a loan spell at Connacht, before making a permanent move to London Irish in 2014. One of the Exiles’ longest serving players, he captained the club on their run to the British and Irish Cup semi-final in 2016/17, and was part of their successful promotion to English Premiership rugby in 2019.

A Commerce graduate from UCD with a Masters in leadership and management from Northumbria University, Conor is pursuing a part-time course in digital marketing, and is also in business with a friend developing a start-up called Doubletapp, an app which rewards people for posting on social media about a brand or business.