Cillian Gallagher
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| Date of birth | 23 July 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Sligo, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 112 kg (17 st 9 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Summerhill College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height and weight correct as of 30 April 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cillian Gallagher (born 23 July 1997) is a professional rugby union player from Ireland. He primarily plays as a lock, but can also play in the back row. Gallagher currently plays for Irish provincial side Connacht in the Pro14, having come through the team's academy.
A student of Summerhill College in Sligo, Gallagher first played rugby for Sligo RFC in Strandhill. He played for the club through under-age level before joining Galway Corinthians.
Gallagher was born and raised in Sligo. He didn't play rugby until he was 13, instead playing soccer and Gaelic football.[1] Gallagher joined the Strandhill-based Sligo RFC when he was in secondary school, also playing basketball at this time.[2] It wasn't until under-18 level that he began to take rugby seriously as his primary sport. Gallagher attended Summerhill College in Sligo town, playing for the school rugby team. Despite it not being a traditional rugby school his squad reached the final of the Connacht Senior Cup in 2015, the first time Summerhill had reached that stage. They defeated local rivals Sligo Grammar in the semi-final,[1] but were ultimately beaten 19–18 in the final by Garbally College, with Gallagher scoring a try.[3][4]
Connacht
Gallagher was involved with the youth setup of his native province, Connacht, from under-15 level. He earned a place in the team's sub-academy at the end of the 2014–15 season.[1] He became part of the full academy in the 2016–17 season.[5] After becoming part of the academy in Galway, Gallagher joined city-based club Galway Corinthians.[6]
While still in the academy, Gallagher made his senior debut for Connacht on 21 October 2017, coming off the bench against Worcester Warriors in the 2017–18 Challenge Cup. His first start came on 9 December 2017 in the same competition, this time against Brive.[7][8] Gallagher made his Pro14 debut away to Munster on 21 January 2018.[9] In March 2018, it was announced that Gallagher had signed a senior deal with the province, becoming part of the first team squad for the following season.[10]