Stephen Cluxton

College

Cluxton first played competitive Gaelic football with St David's CBS in Artane. He initially played association football at school and was reluctant to play Gaelic football as he believed that the sport was "too brutal". Cluxton was eventually persuaded to join the St David's Gaelic football team and began as a corner-forward because of his ability to kick the ball off the ground before later moving to corner-back. The suspension and emigration of the school's first and second-choice goalkeepers saw Cluxton fill in as goalkeeper.

University

During his studies at Dublin City University, Cluxton was selected for the college's senior Gaelic football team. On 25 February 2006, he won a Sigerson Cup medal as goalkeeper following DCU's 0–11 to 1–4 defeat of Queen's University Belfast in the final.

Club

Cluxton joined the Parnells club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. Known for his shot stopping, reflexes and agility in these grades, some deemed him a "little small for a goalkeeper and questioned his aerial ability" when he eventually joined the club's senior team. Cluxton subsequently worked on these "perceived weaknesses" in his game. He plays midfield with them.

Inter-county

Minor and under-21

Cluxton first played for Dublin at minor level as a 17-year-old. On 7 August 1999, he was in goal when Dublin defeated Wexford by 2–13 to 1–12 in the Leinster final replay. Cluxton…

Born in Coolock, Cluxton was raised in a house that had a strong association with association football. His father, Pat, won a lot of medals with Postal Celtic, while Cluxton himself played with St David's Primary School and Tolka Rovers.

As of 2012, Cluxton was a secondary school teacher, teaching biology at St. Vincent's C.B.S. in Glasnevin.

Cluxton has been described by some commentators as the "best Gaelic football goalkeeper of all time". Irish Times writer Malachy Clerkin described him as having had "one of the GAA's greatest careers", while Colm O'Rourke has described Cluxton as "the best goalkeeper I have seen".