THE DAYS AFTER retiring from professional rugby were somewhat listless for former Munster out-half Ian Keatley.

He never did officially retire from the sport. There was no statement from either himself or the final resting place of his professional career, Glasgow Warriors.

“I just felt like nobody cared,” he laughs in conversation with The 42. Of course, he would have discovered that people did care about the imprint he left on the sport. And those fans would have responded to such an announcement with kindly worded tributes to echo the sincerity they showed throughout his career, even if that sincerity was sometimes drowned out by less well-intentioned followers of the sport.

But Keatley chose a quieter, less formal exit. And in the aftermath, he found himself hitting the gym and going for jogs.

“It’s so strange retiring from professional rugby where someone would tell you what to wear, what to eat. You had a weekly schedule.

“So, going from all that to just retiring and not having all that, I found that quite tough.”

He was living in Limerick at this stage, and getting a fitness fix from his new routine. But he was missing something from his former life. After starting a coaching gig at UL Bohemians, he met a few footballers from the Ahane GAA club in the group. Eventually, they approached him with an invitation.

‘Do you want to come join?’

Ian Keatley holding his daughter Beth after his first game for Ahane. Ian Keatley Ian Keatley

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The Ahane junior football team has fielded some high-profile names in recent years. Clare football icon Gary Brennan has made a huge contribution since his arrival at the home club of his wife Niamh Mulcahy who is also a former Limerick camogie player.

Brennan played in last year’s Junior A success before becoming manager for their Premier Junior A victory in 2025. Additionally, Limerick hurling star Dan Morrissey was part of the 2024 team.

And then there’s the influx of former Ireland rugby internationals. Along with Keatley, Seán Cronin and Tommy O’Donnell have also worn the green and gold. Cronin is originally from Monaleen, while O’Donnell comes from Tipperary.

Former Clare footballer Gary Brennan. Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO

Keatley has fond memories with both of his Ahane teammates from their rugby days. He roomed with Cronin during his three seasons with Connacht and played Ireland U20s with O’Donnell. They’ve wandered into the same dressing room again and their children have all become good friends. The connections go even deeper than that. All three work for Munster Rugby too, with Cronin and Keatley serving as provincial talent coaches.

“I literally sit beside Seán and Tommy is two rows down. So, we’re constantly chatting and talking nearly every day. You go to Ahane to try and get a break away from them, and then you meet again.” 

Similar to some of the other Ahane players, Keatley is also a blow-in. This is his first brush with Gaelic Games too. Growing up in Dublin, rugby was his constant. He attended Belvedere College which is highly regarded rugby institution that has produced several greats of the game. Keatley won a Leinster Senior Schools Cup during his time there, playing alongside fellow ex-international Cian Healy. 

Some soccer, tennis and sailing also featured for Keatley growing up but Gaelic football wasn’t in his orbit. But now that he lives in Lisnagry, just down the road from Ahane’s GAA pitch, he’s surrounded by it. And he’s enjoying his first sip of the Kool-Aid.

He was a half-back in his rugby years and is a half-back of a different kind now.

“I literally couldn’t hop and solo a ball to save my life, so I had to kind of learn all that,” Keatley says about transitioning from the rugby ball to the O’Neills.

“It looks easy, but it’s not to be able to run at pace. If you take up a new sport, you have such respect for the players who do it at county level and their ability to be able to run a pace and solo and scan, communicate all on the run is unbelievable, especially when you’re just taking it off from scratch.”

He’s a regular in the Ahane starting team, although he injured his groin this year and was forced to miss the county final where they defeated Fr Casey’s. Keatley did make it back though for their Munster semi-final defeat to Buttevant of Cork.

Seán Cronin pictured in 2010 when he was with Connacht. James Crombie James Crombie

Interestingly, Seán Cronin was the one who was struck down by injury on that occasion.

“Showing our ages,” Keatley laughs. “The two old lads pulling up in the warm-ups like geriatrics.”

Keatley still has plenty of natural athleticism that makes him a good fit for junior football. But the skills side of the game remains a work in progress.

“I’m still learning. I try to get out early and just practice picking the ball up off the ground and obviously you’ve to put your foot underneath the ball. I know what I want to do, it’s just to be able to hop and solo at pace.

“I’m getting the grasp on it, but I always give myself one little mishap a game where I kick the ball too far when I’m soloing or something like that. Or not kick the ball up properly. I’ve forgiven myself for that because I know it’s not my, my first sport, but I know I’m trying to do the right things.”

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Keatley covered a lot of ground in his rugby career. His time at Connacht was followed by an eight-year stretch at Munster. He left with a tally of 1,247 points, second only to Ronan O’Gara in the Munster roll of honour.

After that, he ventured over to London Irish on a short-term deal before flying out to Italy to join Benetton. He then went to Glasgow Warriors in 2021 and while a move to France was briefly explored at the end of that stint, his daughter Beth was starting school and it didn’t feel right to go abroad again.

On the international front, Keatley was capped seven times for Ireland. Looking back on it all now though, he doesn’t quite believe he touched the ceiling of his ability.

“I probably didn’t feel like I reached my full potential. I always point probably two fingers at myself first. Maybe I wasn’t as fully committed, maybe I didn’t ask enough questions.

“I always trained hard, but maybe I just didn’t aim the right things, or ask the right questions. Like in Munster, we had a lot of changing of coaches and I felt like I got confused quite a lot, because different coaches want different things. 

“I know I trained hard but I probably should have went to sports psychologists, and probably got help more so that way. I think I was an over-thinker, and thought of things too personally, and stuff like that. If I had a bad game, I would have taken it personally.”

Ian Keatley leaving the field after Munster's Champions Cup defeat to Leicester Tigers in 2015. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

Most of his career highlights took place at Munster but that also coincided with some dreadfully low moments. Many will recall the ironic cheers that ushered Keatley off the field in Thomond Park when he was withdrawn during a Champions Cup defeat to Leicester. The club was experiencing a period of decline during that time, compounded by the sudden death of their head coach Anthony Foley in 2016.

But despite the negative noise, it was the true reds who let the light in for Keatley.

“I think I only ever had one interaction with a Munster fan and it was probably a night in the pub where,  he said some stuff to me, but that’s it. But the amount of compliments… they’re the real people who are there to support you.

“That’s why I would still be a Munster fan because I know there’s a lot of good people in this province who care and put a lot of time, effort, and money into coming to support Munster.”

Social media was in its infancy in those days, and while direct communication is even more accessible today, athletes have more resources and support to combat the vitriol that may infect their inboxes. It was different for Keatley’s generation.

“I suppose I started playing my rugby in a time when Twitter and social media started being really prominent back in probably 2012/13, kind of, like, halfway through my career.  I probably didn’t really know how to react to people being able to abuse you directly online.

“I probably should have reached out for a bit more, there was people there, but I don’t know, probably at the time, you [don't] kind of feel like you need to. ‘Oh, it’s fine, I’ll sort it myself.’ But looking back, I probably wasn’t.”

There is a certain level of scrutiny surrounding Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley in their ongoing battle for the Ireland 10 jersey. It’s not comparable to the vile, personal attacks that Keatley received but the commentary is still similarly relentless. Keatley finds it exhausting and unhelpful.

“The only thing that frustrates me is if it’s a week-to-week conversation. People saying, ‘Oh, why did Jack Crowley not get four games during the Autumn?  Just let them play. I think it’s great that we have, like, two, three, four 10s – it’s probably our most competitive position, well, that talks about it, so just let them go, let them go at it, make sure that they’re playing well for their provinces and I think it’s a great thing.”

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Keatley with his son Quinn.

Joining Ahane has allowed Keatley to reconnect with the life he once had. He’s back in a team environment again, with all the elements of togetherness, camaraderie and dressing room solidarity that he knew before. The pressures of professional sport have been replaced by the fun of the amateur game.

The international rugby coaching is on ice for the moment but Keatley has already built up a healthy CV which he can return to if he wishes. For the last two seasons, he was part of Neil Doak’s coaching ticket with the Ireland U20s which gives him a solid base to build on when the time is right for him.

There was “hardly any football” when Keatley joined Ahane two years ago. His arrival has helped with a rapid growth that has culminated in back-to-back promotions. There’s a broad spread of ages in the team, but that only adds to the enjoyment for Keatley.

“I think me and Sean [Cronin] brought up the average age to 24. They’re a young energetic squad and we’ve got a good blend of experience, a few rugby misfits in there, [and] a few hurlers.

“We’re all part of the community and we all have really good fun. It doesn’t matter if you’re 17 or… One of the lads I talk to the most is a 17-year-old. So, it’s good fun.”

He might be still learning to play like a footballer, but when asked if he will suit up again next season, it’s clear that he’s already fluent in GAA talk. The transformation is almost complete.

“If the body allows me,” he replies. “I need to keep fit during the off season and see how I feel then.”