02-06-2025
Inside Caoimhin Kelleher's personal life as Cork man set for £18m move
Liverpool FC have agreed to a £18m (€21m) deal with Brentford to sell their Irish goalkeeper, Caoimhin Kelleher.
The 26-year-old has played for Liverpool's Senior team since 2019 having trained with their academy prior to that.
The Cork man had interest from West Ham FC, Leeds as well as Bournemouth but looks set to replace Mark Flekken who leaves Brentford for Bayer Leverkusen. Liverpool FC have agreed to a £18m (€21m) deal with Brentford to sell their Irish goalkeeper, Caoimhin Kelleher. Pic: Chris Foxwell/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock
As Kelleher makes his move, take a look at his career history, love life and family life — including his fellow soccer playing brother.
Caoimhin was born and raised in Blackrock, Cork and attended Presentation Brothers College. The 26-year-old is the youngest of five boys with his brother Fiacre, 29, currently playing for EFL League Two club Colchester United.
Their three older brothers played hurling, as did Fiachra. Macclesfield Town manager Mark Kennedy talks to Fiacre Kelleher during the pre match warm up prior to the Sky Bet League Two match between Macclesfield Town and Northampton Town in 2020. Pic:Caoimhin Kelleher has been in a relationship with accomplished Irish dancer, Eimear Murphy, for a number of years.
The pair have been together since they were teenagers, with Eimear even teaching the goalkeeper some Irish dancing.
'My girlfriend is skilled in Irish dancing, so I've been trying to garner up some moves too,' he told Liverpool Echo last year.
'I used to do it at school back home, so I've been trying to pick it up because I want to learn it again.' Caoimhin Kelleher has been in a relationship with Irish dancer Eimear Murphy since they were teenagers. Pic: Facebook
The Cork native joined Liverpool's academy from Ringmahon Rangers in summer 2015 and was re-signed in August 2018.
Kelleher became the 12th Irish footballer to win a Champions League in 2019 when the team won against Tottenham Hotspur. Kelleher was on the bench for the game but made his competitive debut for Liverpool shortly after in September 2019.
In 2020, Kelleher started a number of times for Liverpool, with the then 22-year-old becoming the third-youngest goalkeeper for the club to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League.
Kelleher has caps for his country at U17, U19 and U21 level, first playing for Ireland in the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 championships.
He was first named on the senior squad in November 2018 and played his first game in June 2021, when he came on as a half-time substitute.
To date, Caoimhin has made 22 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team.
