THE SUDDENLY ANNUAL trips to Australia are proving handy for Hugo Keenan when it comes to seeing his younger brother, Andrew, who lives in Sydney.
Andrew has been Down Under for the last two years, working for PwC, and is part of a group of friends from Dublin who are now based in Sydney.
With Ireland on tour in Australia for the Nations Championship, it’s nice for Hugo to be able to catch up with Andrew, who stands 6ft 6ins tall and is a “larger than life character,” according to his older brother.
Andrew never had as much interest in rugby as Hugo, but was a basketballer and an Irish Open champion in spikeball.
“He’d be in the same crew of mates as Tommy O’Brien,” says Ireland fullback Keenan. “It was unfortunate that Tommy got that injury because I think there’s maybe six or eight of that friend group, and he’d be one of Andrew’s best mates.
“So there was an extra bit of hurt for Tommy as well. I feel for him.”
Keenan’s older brother, Robert, lives in London, working in private equity, but he got down to Australia for the Lions series last summer, when their parents, Paul and Avril, spent six weeks following the rugby tour.
Robert was more of a rugby player, although he hung up his boots during the pandemic, having had a couple of bad injuries before that.
“He was on a class U20s team in UCD,” says Keenan. “It was him, Billy Dardis and Adam Byrne in the back three. It was Rory O’Loughlin and Garry Ringrose in the centre, and Nick McCarthy and Ross Byrne at nine and 10.
“So he was the sort of non-pedigree player. He had a pure sprinter sort of speed.
“He won the All-Ireland 4 x 100 m relay in fifth year, and then the same team went back in sixth year and dropped the baton in the final when they were on track to break the All-Ireland record.
“I won’t name the other three lads. I actually know exactly who they are. I won’t name who [dropped it]. He was on the last 100m, and he didn’t get to touch it. It was the day before the Leaving Cert as well.”
The only member of the family who wasn’t able to make it to Australia last year was Keenan’s sister, Naomi, who is a paediatric doctor at Temple Street in Dublin.
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Keenan with family last summer. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Hugo has great respect for his sister’s career, which he says is as much “a vocation” as a job.
Given that Keenan himself has 46 Ireland caps and was on the Lions tour, this is clearly a family of high achievers.
“They’re all hard workers,” he says of his siblings. “They’re all ambitious in their own right. They’re great. We’re very close, get on very well.
“We don’t see each other as a collective too much, but my brother got to travel over last summer and my sister was working, so she missed it all. She was a bit jealous, but she’s still in Dublin, so I see her a lot and, yeah, good group.”
It’s just Hugo and Andrew meeting up this summer, but the rest of the Keenans will be watching on proudly as Hugo gets his Ireland career back up and running. And they’ll hope to be back for the World Cup next year.
30-year-old Keenan hasn’t worn the green jersey since the 2025 Six Nations. He missed this season’s November Tests after undergoing hip surgery in the wake of the Lions tour. He was due to be back in this year’s Six Nations, but suffered an unlucky thumb fracture in training just before the championship.
“I’m itching to get back into the green jersey,” says Keenan. “There’s nothing like representing your country.
“It was something I’ve always dreamed of. I never thought I’d get to do it once.
“I’ve 46 [caps] now, and when you’re injured, it’s not a big injury, but when you’re out of the game for six months, and then you miss another Six Nations, and you’re out of the team for a while, you do have your doubts.
“You do wonder, is there going to be another chance? And you never know what’s sort of around the corner for you.
“So it’s definitely made me more hungry to get back into the squad and, yeah, buzzing just to hopefully get an opportunity to play and wear that green jersey again.”
Keenan is happy to report that his touring experience so far has been far more comfortable this year. He was hit by a severe virus early in the Lions tour and was sick for 12 days, losing nearly 6kg in weight.
He had to isolate from the rest of the Lions squad and missed games. Even just “getting off the jacks was an issue,” as he said last year.
“No hiccups thankfully,” he confirms now with a smile.
Keenan at Ireland training in Sydney this week. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Of course, last year’s tour also included an incredible high for Keenan as he finished the Lions’ stunning last-gasp try to win the second Test in Melbourne, clinching the series success in the process.
It was an epic moment that will live long in the memory.
“It’s sort of cool looking back on it, but there’s no point dwelling on it now,” says Keenan.
“There’s more memories to be made, and it’s a big challenge for us again this week and over the next few weeks, and it’s an exciting new tournament and a new sort of quest.”
He has enjoyed the initial stages of this new Nations Championship journey, training hard with Ireland in preparation for Saturday’s game against the Wallabies, but also enjoying some downtime in Sydney.
Keenan was among a big group of Irish players who went to watch Manly’s NRL game against the Melbourne Storm on Saturday night. He watches rugby league’s annual State of Origin series, but he has been trying to get more into the NRL competition recently.
Leinster have a connection with the Melbourne Storm, with out-half Caspar Gabriel and back row Josh Ericson currently on a development stint with the NRL side. Last year, hooker Stephen Smyth and wing Ruben Moloney visited.
Leinster welcomed two Storm players, Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown and Hugo Peel, to Dublin last November, so Keenan and his provincial team-mates enjoyed getting to see Tuimalatu-Brown on the wing for the Storm on Saturday.
“If I had to choose a team, it probably would be Storm because of that affiliation,” says Keenan.
“Hugo [Peel] was a fullback. I got on well with him. He was very curious and often picked my brains. He made his debut for Storm only a month or two back as well. It’s cool seeing that side of it.”
Keenan enjoyed the buzz at the Manly game, and says he would have relished a chance like the one the “super talented” Gabriel and Ericson have in the Storm at the moment.
“I definitely would have loved to have done it,” he says. “I think getting yourself out of the comfort zone… one of the reasons why I went back to sevens is something similar.
“Just challenge yourself in different environments, different codes of the game and learn new skills and progress yourself on. I think it’ll definitely stand to the two lads.”
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Hugo doing high-achieving Keenans proud as he returns for Ireland
THE SUDDENLY ANNUAL trips to Australia are proving handy for Hugo Keenan when it comes to seeing his younger brother, Andrew, who lives in Sydney.
Andrew has been Down Under for the last two years, working for PwC, and is part of a group of friends from Dublin who are now based in Sydney.
With Ireland on tour in Australia for the Nations Championship, it’s nice for Hugo to be able to catch up with Andrew, who stands 6ft 6ins tall and is a “larger than life character,” according to his older brother.
Andrew never had as much interest in rugby as Hugo, but was a basketballer and an Irish Open champion in spikeball.
“He’d be in the same crew of mates as Tommy O’Brien,” says Ireland fullback Keenan. “It was unfortunate that Tommy got that injury because I think there’s maybe six or eight of that friend group, and he’d be one of Andrew’s best mates.
“So there was an extra bit of hurt for Tommy as well. I feel for him.”
Keenan’s older brother, Robert, lives in London, working in private equity, but he got down to Australia for the Lions series last summer, when their parents, Paul and Avril, spent six weeks following the rugby tour.
Robert was more of a rugby player, although he hung up his boots during the pandemic, having had a couple of bad injuries before that.
“He was on a class U20s team in UCD,” says Keenan. “It was him, Billy Dardis and Adam Byrne in the back three. It was Rory O’Loughlin and Garry Ringrose in the centre, and Nick McCarthy and Ross Byrne at nine and 10.
“So he was the sort of non-pedigree player. He had a pure sprinter sort of speed.
“He won the All-Ireland 4 x 100 m relay in fifth year, and then the same team went back in sixth year and dropped the baton in the final when they were on track to break the All-Ireland record.
“I won’t name the other three lads. I actually know exactly who they are. I won’t name who [dropped it]. He was on the last 100m, and he didn’t get to touch it. It was the day before the Leaving Cert as well.”
The only member of the family who wasn’t able to make it to Australia last year was Keenan’s sister, Naomi, who is a paediatric doctor at Temple Street in Dublin.
Hugo has great respect for his sister’s career, which he says is as much “a vocation” as a job.
Given that Keenan himself has 46 Ireland caps and was on the Lions tour, this is clearly a family of high achievers.
“They’re all hard workers,” he says of his siblings. “They’re all ambitious in their own right. They’re great. We’re very close, get on very well.
“We don’t see each other as a collective too much, but my brother got to travel over last summer and my sister was working, so she missed it all. She was a bit jealous, but she’s still in Dublin, so I see her a lot and, yeah, good group.”
It’s just Hugo and Andrew meeting up this summer, but the rest of the Keenans will be watching on proudly as Hugo gets his Ireland career back up and running. And they’ll hope to be back for the World Cup next year.
30-year-old Keenan hasn’t worn the green jersey since the 2025 Six Nations. He missed this season’s November Tests after undergoing hip surgery in the wake of the Lions tour. He was due to be back in this year’s Six Nations, but suffered an unlucky thumb fracture in training just before the championship.
“I’m itching to get back into the green jersey,” says Keenan. “There’s nothing like representing your country.
“It was something I’ve always dreamed of. I never thought I’d get to do it once.
“I’ve 46 [caps] now, and when you’re injured, it’s not a big injury, but when you’re out of the game for six months, and then you miss another Six Nations, and you’re out of the team for a while, you do have your doubts.
“You do wonder, is there going to be another chance? And you never know what’s sort of around the corner for you.
“So it’s definitely made me more hungry to get back into the squad and, yeah, buzzing just to hopefully get an opportunity to play and wear that green jersey again.”
Keenan is happy to report that his touring experience so far has been far more comfortable this year. He was hit by a severe virus early in the Lions tour and was sick for 12 days, losing nearly 6kg in weight.
He had to isolate from the rest of the Lions squad and missed games. Even just “getting off the jacks was an issue,” as he said last year.
“No hiccups thankfully,” he confirms now with a smile.
Of course, last year’s tour also included an incredible high for Keenan as he finished the Lions’ stunning last-gasp try to win the second Test in Melbourne, clinching the series success in the process.
It was an epic moment that will live long in the memory.
“It’s sort of cool looking back on it, but there’s no point dwelling on it now,” says Keenan.
“There’s more memories to be made, and it’s a big challenge for us again this week and over the next few weeks, and it’s an exciting new tournament and a new sort of quest.”
He has enjoyed the initial stages of this new Nations Championship journey, training hard with Ireland in preparation for Saturday’s game against the Wallabies, but also enjoying some downtime in Sydney.
Keenan was among a big group of Irish players who went to watch Manly’s NRL game against the Melbourne Storm on Saturday night. He watches rugby league’s annual State of Origin series, but he has been trying to get more into the NRL competition recently.
Leinster have a connection with the Melbourne Storm, with out-half Caspar Gabriel and back row Josh Ericson currently on a development stint with the NRL side. Last year, hooker Stephen Smyth and wing Ruben Moloney visited.
Leinster welcomed two Storm players, Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown and Hugo Peel, to Dublin last November, so Keenan and his provincial team-mates enjoyed getting to see Tuimalatu-Brown on the wing for the Storm on Saturday.
“If I had to choose a team, it probably would be Storm because of that affiliation,” says Keenan.
“Hugo [Peel] was a fullback. I got on well with him. He was very curious and often picked my brains. He made his debut for Storm only a month or two back as well. It’s cool seeing that side of it.”
Keenan enjoyed the buzz at the Manly game, and says he would have relished a chance like the one the “super talented” Gabriel and Ericson have in the Storm at the moment.
“I definitely would have loved to have done it,” he says. “I think getting yourself out of the comfort zone… one of the reasons why I went back to sevens is something similar.
“Just challenge yourself in different environments, different codes of the game and learn new skills and progress yourself on. I think it’ll definitely stand to the two lads.”
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