Leinster vs Edinburgh

Aidan Kearney was something
of a physical phenom back in the
late 1990s.
He moved from St Paul’s College in
Raheny to St Michael’s College for the
final two years of school which coincided
with a change in the age limit, enabling
Aidan to play both years of the Senior
Cup
In 1998, he shifted gears to UCD on
a two-year scholarship and was also
involved in the IRFU Academy where
Aidan joined the likes of Paul O’Connell,
Donncha O’Callaghan, Brian O’Driscoll,
Kieran Campbell, Adrian Flavin, Jerry
Flannery and Paddy Wallace.
The 6’ 7”, 18 stone, and more, second
row was a man before his time in the
sense that he represented the Ireland
sevens.
“I suppose I was quite athletic and quite
fast. Denis McBride and Kurt McQuilkin
were running the sevens programme.
They were in and out to the IRFU
Academy sessions,” says Aidan.
It was there they would have noticed a
specimen, whose measurables screamed
international second row forward, with
the God-given gifts to roam the sevens
circuit.
“It was funny. We were training up in
UCD in our wet gear in around two or
three degrees of cold weather. We went
from there to 30 degrees heat in Dubai,”
he recalls.
“Willie Anderson was a coach at
the Academy. He asked me to join
Dungannon which I thought was strange
at the time. In hindsight, why would it be
strange when one of your coaches wants
you to play for his club?
“It was an opportunity to be coached by
Willie and play with Paddy Johns, who
had come back from Saracens at that
point.
“I was also moving from an Academy
contract to an Ulster Development
contract, the next step-up. That was a nobrainer
for me because, believe it or not,
Paddy was my Ireland hero growing up.
“I ended up there for three years and,
in the year of foot and mouth, won the
All-Ireland League, beating Cork Con in
the final in 2001.
With the 1998 U-19 World Cup and All-
Ireland League medals draped around
his neck, Aidan had all the appearance
of a sure bet to have a long and shining
professional career.
However, Aidan never made it beyond
the bench in his two years at Ulster,
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