Early Life and Career
Born in Enfield, Middlesex, Kilkenny moved to Australia with his family at the age of four, and grew up in Brisbane.He also worked for a short while at Homebase. When 7, he played for a club in west Brisbane called St. Catherines United Football Club. St Cats is best known for defeating Westminster in the 2008 QCSA grand final senior Mens Division 5. A promising schoolboy footballer, he captained the Queensland schools' representative team. When Kilkenny was eleven, the family returned to England to maximise his chances of making a career in the game. At twelve, he was invited to join Arsenal's youth development scheme, and while a student at Ravenscroft School, Barnet, he played for Middlesex Schools and appeared for Arsenal's under-17 team. In July 2002 he began a two-year scholarship programme in Arsenal's Academy.
By the 2003–04 season, he had graduated to Arsenal's under-19 team and once been an unused substitute for the reserves, and had played international football for Republic of Ireland under-19s, qualifying via Irish paternal grandparents, and for England under-18s. However, he became unhappy at Arsenal, chose to leave the club, and after trials with clubs including Aston Villa, Manchester City and Leicester City, he joined Birmingham City on a free transfer in January 2004.
Read more about this topic: Neil Kilkenny
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or career:
“Pray be always in motion. Early in the morning go and see things; and the rest of the day go and see people. If you stay but a week at a place, and that an insignificant one, see, however, all that is to be seen there; know as many people, and get into as many houses as ever you can.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)
“In soliciting donations from his flock, a preacher may promise eternal life in a celestial city whose streets are paved with gold, and that’s none of the law’s business. But if he promises an annual free stay in a luxury hotel on Earth, he’d better have the rooms available.”
—Unknown. Charlotte Observer (October 6, 1989)
“From a hasty glance through the various tests I figure it out that I would be classified in Group B, indicating “Low Average Ability,” reserved usually for those just learning to speak the English Language and preparing for a career of holding a spike while another man hits it.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)