Leinster vs Edinburgh

second row for his first three caps, adding
Cardiff and Border Reivers to his resume.
None stands out in his recall.
“When you are in the company of
Malcolm O’Kelly and Leo Cullen,
they were straight in when they were
available. I would have been competing
against Ben Gissing for the other slot,”
he states.
“When you felt like you were making
ground on these guys, the Heineken Cup
came around and the intensity went up
another level at training in those weeks.
“I struggled with that early on as a young
player, getting used to it. That said, I
thoroughly enjoyed my two years at
Leinster.”
Nonetheless, Aidan accumulated four
starts from nine caps in 2002/03 and
a further nine starts from 17 caps in his
second season, including a run of three
tries in three matches.
On the face of it, this was clear progress.
It wasn’t convincing enough for Declan
Kidney to want to see more of Aidan
when the Corkman took over in the
summer of 2004.
The rise of the versatile Ciaran Potts
meant there was no place on the roster
for Aidan, forcing a career-defining
personal decision, leading to the end of
his time in the paid ranks.
“There were no spots in the other
provinces available. I sat down with my
auld lad (Frank) to consider trawling
through the UK with a Championship
club. Did I want to do that? Did I want to
bounce around? Not really,” he admits.
“If I was to look back, it was probably a
regret that I didn’t have an agent at the
time, someone to reach out and test the
waters.”
There is a reason professional contracts
are sometimes handed out on a ‘position
of need’ basis. It could just be that Aidan
came along at a time when Irish rugby
was stocked with international locks.
O’Connell and O’Callaghan at Munster.
O’Kelly and Cullen at Leinster.
He moved closer to home to play for
Clontarf in the All-Ireland League for
one season and then back to where it all
started at Suttonians to reconnect with
childhood teammates Karl Cowman,
Noel Hehir, Darragh Dowling and Dave
Walsh.
“I decided to move into the family
business, selling industrial supplies, for
about 12 years,” he says.
“Five years ago, when dad decided to
sell up, I looked on it as an opportunity
to get back into rugby. I started part-time
as a Club Community Rugby Officer for
Leinster and Rugby Development Officer
for Dublin City University.
“From there, I was working as an
operations officer with the participation
team in the IRFU for three years until
about six months ago when I became a
victim of the consequences of Covid,” he
declares.
The man who left Leinster after two years
in professional rugby feels compelled to
stick with the game he loves.
“I know I want to be involved in rugby in
some shape or form. I am just looking for
the right opportunity.”
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