Ruairí Canavan

Ruairí Canavan
Personal information
Irish name Ruairí Ó Ceannubháin
Sport Gaelic football
Position Forward
Born 2003 (age 20–21)
Club(s)
Years Club
2021–
 Errigal Ciarán
Club titles
Tyrone titles 2
Ulster titles 1
Colleges(s)
Years College
 Ulster University
College titles
Sigerson titles 1
Inter-county(ies)
Years County
2022–
 Tyrone
Inter-county titles
Ulster titles 0
All-Irelands 0
All Stars 0

Ruairí Canavan (born 2003) is a Gaelic footballer who plays for Errigal Ciarán and the Tyrone county team. His father, Peter Canavan, is a former All-Ireland winning captain with Tyrone, and his brother Darragh is also an inter-county footballer.

Playing career

University

In his studies at Ulster University, Canavan established himself on their senior football team. Ulster faced UCD in the final of the Sigerson Cup on 14 February 2024. Canavan kicked four points Ulster won the cup for the first time in sixteen years.[1]

Club

Canavan made his Tyrone Senior Football Championship debut on 10 October 2021. He scored five points from the bench in a twelve-point win over Clonoe.[2]

On 30 October 2022, Canavan played in his first county final, with Errigal Ciarán facing Carrickmore. Errigal won the match by 2–11 to 1–12, with Canavan scoring two points.[3]

Errigal Ciarán reached the county final again in 2023, this time against Trillick. Canavan scored a point from a free, but Trillick won the final by three points after extra-time.[4] The two sides met in the county final for the second year in a row in 2024. Canavan top-scored with six points to help Errigal to a 0–12 to 1–8 win. Canavan also received the man of the match award, as well as finishing as the championship's top scorer.[5] Errigal went on to reach the final of the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship, with Canavan kicking nine points in the semi-final against Clann Éireann.[6] Errigal went on to win the final, beating Kilcoo by a point to win the championship for the first time since 2002.[7]

Inter-county

Minor and under-20

On 14 July 2019, the Tyrone minor team faced Monaghan in the Ulster final. Canavan came on as a second-half substitute as Monaghan won the match by two points.[8]

On 22 April 2022, Canavan was in the half-forward line as the Tyrone under-20 team faced Cavan in the Ulster final. Canavan kicked seven points from placed balls, including a sideline. Tyrone held on to win the match by 0–11 to 0–10, with Canavan being named man of the match.[9] Canavan put in another man of the match performance on 8 May, scoring 0–8 in the All-Ireland semi-final win over Kerry.[10] On 14 May Tyrone faced Kildare in the All-Ireland final. Canavan was once again the hero, scoring 1–7 as Tyrone were crowned All-Ireland champions with a six-point win.[11] Canavan was named U20 Footballer of the Year for his performances in the championship.[12]

Canavan was named captain of the under-20 team for the 2023 season.[13] Tyrone suffered an early championship exit, losing to Down in the first round.[14]

Senior

Canavan joined the Tyrone senior panel after the All-Ireland Under-20 win in May 2022.[15]

On 19 February 2023, Canavan made his National League debut as a late sub in a loss to Galway.[16] Canavan scored his first point for Tyrone the next week, as Tyrone suffered a heavy loss to Mayo.[17] Canavan made his senior championship debut on 16 April, coming on as a late substitute in an Ulster quarter-final loss to Monaghan.[18] Canavan's first start was on 18 June, scoring three points in a draw against Westmeath.[19] In the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final against Donegal, Canavan scored his first goal, finishing with 1–1 in an eight-point win for Tyrone.[20] Kerry ended Tyrone's season at the quarter-final stage.[21]

Honours

Tyrone

Errigal Ciarán

Ulster University

Individual

References

  1. ^ Brennan, Paul (14 February 2024). "Early goals key as Ulster University claim Sigerson Cup after defeating UCD". RTÉ. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  2. ^ Archer, Kenny (11 October 2021). "Errigal Ciaran race to big win over Clonoe with Canavans starring". The Irish News. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  3. ^ Bogue, Declan (30 October 2022). "Darragh Canavan takes control to drive Errigal to Tyrone title". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  4. ^ Mooney, Francis (29 October 2023). "Trillick dethrone champions Errigal Ciaran in thriller to claim ninth Tyrone SFC title". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  5. ^ O'Kane, Cahair (25 October 2024). "Errigal Ciaran win the best county final of 2024". The Irish News. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  6. ^ McMullan, Michael (24 November 2024). "Ruairi Canavan masterclass secures narrow win for Errigal Ciaran". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  7. ^ Mooney, Francis (8 December 2024). "McCartan the hero as Ciaran end 22-year Ulster famine". RTÉ. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  8. ^ Crumley, Odhrán (15 July 2019). "Monaghan come strong to beat Tyrone and retain Ulster minor title". Gaelic Life. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  9. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (22 April 2022). "Ruairi Canavan the hero as Tyrone edge Cavan in riveting Ulster U20 final". the42.ie. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  10. ^ Murphy, Murt (8 May 2022). "Canavan inspires Tyrone to semi-final victory over Kerry". the42.ie. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  11. ^ McNally, Ger (14 May 2022). "Canavan the hero as Tyrone defeat Kildare to win the All-Ireland U20 football championship". the42.ie. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  12. ^ Roche, Frank (25 May 2022). "Tyrone's Ruairí Canavan named EirGrid Under-20 Footballer of the Year". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  13. ^ Mooney, Francis (8 March 2023). "Ruairi Canavan happy to serve Tyrone on two fronts". The Irish News. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  14. ^ Mooney, Francis (29 March 2023). "Down stun All-Ireland champions Tyrone in Ulster U20 Championship quarter-final". The Irish News. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  15. ^ Gartland, Niall (28 May 2022). "U20 Footballer of the Year Ruairi Canavan called into Tyrone panel". Gaelic Life. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  16. ^ Fallon, John (19 February 2023). "Galway prevail over Tyrone in testing conditions". RTÉ. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  17. ^ Gannon, Colm (25 February 2023). "Goal-hungry Mayo in control against Tyrone". The42.ie. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  18. ^ Mooney, Francis (16 April 2023). "O'Toole injury-time goal sees Monaghan oust Tyrone". RTÉ. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  19. ^ Buckley, Gerry (18 June 2023). "Tyrone stay in All-Ireland despite draw with Westmeath". RTÉ. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  20. ^ Campbell, Peter (25 June 2023). "Canavan boys on form to seal Tyrone quarter-final slot". RTÉ. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  21. ^ Keane, Pau (1 July 2023). "Impressive Kerry crush Tyrone at Croke Park". RTÉ. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
Awards
Preceded by Eirgrid Under-20 Footballer of the Year
2022 		Succeeded by