Caoimhin Kelleher missed Brentford’s 4-3 win away to Burnley on February 28 so he could be at home with his partner Eimear Murphy and the newborn daughter and son they welcomed in late February.
The 27-year-old joined Brentford from Liverpool in June for a fee which could rise to £18million and has been a near constant presence since, playing in 32 of Brentford’s 33 top‑flight games this season.
Speaking after the twins’ arrival, Kelleher said plainly that becoming a father has reordered his priorities: "It puts stuff into perspective (becoming a father). Sometimes, (other) things are a lot more important than football. My main priority now is being a dad to them and trying to be the best father I can be. You look at football after that." He added more lightheartedly, "The twins are as good as gold."
Those comments followed a difficult period for Kelleher. One month after he left Liverpool, team‑mate Diogo Jota was killed in a car accident that also claimed the life of Jota’s brother and fellow footballer Andre Silva. Kelleher posted a tribute, writing that "You became one of my closest friends in football" and that the loss had "hurt for a long time."
Kelleher has been candid about how grief and fatherhood intersect. "It’s grief. Everyone goes through it at some point, and it is difficult," he said, and when asked whether the new arrival sharpened that perspective he answered, "Yeah, maybe that does bring it into perspective even a bit more." He also told event attendees that his partner is "brilliant" and he feels "blessed."
The scale of Brentford’s commitment to Kelleher is striking on paper: the June move could rise to £18million and the goalkeeper has missed only one of the club’s 33 top‑flight fixtures since joining from Liverpool. That availability underlines why the club left him at home for one match when his family needed him.
Context helps explain the personal note in Kelleher’s remarks. He moved to England at age 16 when he joined Liverpool’s academy, and that history remains part of his public story. His name is often mispronounced; he gives the pronunciation as "Keev-een." He has also taken part in community activity in his new town, attending a Brentford Community Sports Trust event at the Gunnersbury Clubhouse.
The tension in Kelleher’s season is simple: professional consistency against a backdrop of private upheaval. He has been ever present on the pitch apart from that single, family‑focused absence, yet the recent deaths of close friends and the sudden demands of twin parenting are facts that cannot be scheduled around fixtures.
For now, Kelleher’s resolution is unambiguous. "My main priority now is being a dad to them and trying to be the best father I can be," he said, and his choices so far — leaving the Burnley trip to be at home, attending community engagements and continuing to play almost every league game — suggest he intends to combine both responsibilities rather than cede one to the other.
