Dean Rock facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Position | Left corner-forward | ||
| Born | 26 February 1990 Ballymun, Dublin, Ireland |
||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Occupation | Fundraising & communications manager | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
|
2007–
|
Ballymun Kickhams | ||
| Club titles | |||
| Dublin titles | 2 | ||
| Leinster titles | 1 | ||
| Colleges(s) | |||
| Years | College | ||
|
2011–2014
|
Dublin City University | ||
| College titles | |||
| Sigerson titles | 1 | ||
| Inter-county(ies)* | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
|
2013-2023
|
Dublin | 53 (11–253) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Leinster titles | 12 | ||
| All-Irelands | 8 | ||
| NFL | 6 | ||
| All Stars | 3 | ||
| *Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 22:43, 2 September 2021 (UTC). | |||
Dean Rock (born 26 February 1990) is a famous Irish Gaelic football player. He played for the Dublin county team from 2013 until his retirement in 2023.
Rock was known for being an amazing free-taker. A free-take is a chance to score a point without being tackled. He famously scored the winning point from a free in the 2017 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. Many experts, like Colm O'Rourke, have called him one of the best free-takers ever to play at Croke Park.
Contents
A Family of Football
Rock was born in Ballymun, Dublin, into a family that loved Gaelic football. His father, Barney Rock, was also a star player for Dublin and won an All-Ireland medal. Even his great-grandfather, grandfather, and granduncle worked at Croke Park, Ireland's biggest stadium.
Playing Career
Rock's journey to becoming a Dublin legend started when he was young. He played for his school and local club before joining the Dublin teams.
School and Club Football
Rock went to the Catholic University School. The school didn't have a Gaelic football team, so he played rugby union instead.
At the same time, he played for his local club, Ballymun Kickhams. He started playing for their senior team in 2008. With his club, he won two Dublin Senior Championships and one Leinster Senior Club Championship.
Dublin County Teams
Rock played for Dublin at every level, from minor (under-18) to senior.
Early Years with Dublin
He first played for the Dublin minor team. Later, he joined the under-21 team and won an All-Ireland Championship in 2010. This was a sign of the great success that was to come.
Senior Team Success
Rock joined the Dublin senior team in 2012. He quickly became one of the team's most important players. He was a key part of Dublin's amazing run, winning eight All-Ireland Championships. This included six championships in a row from 2015 to 2020.
He also won ten Leinster Championships and five National League titles with Dublin. Because of his great skill, he was given three All-Star awards, which are given to the best players in the country.
Famous Moments
Rock was known for staying calm under pressure and scoring when it mattered most.
- 2017 All-Ireland Final: With the score tied against Mayo, Rock kicked a difficult free in the last minute to win the championship for Dublin.
- 2019 All-Ireland Final: During the final against Kerry, he became Dublin's second-highest scorer of all time.
- 2020 All-Ireland Final: Rock scored the fastest goal in the history of All-Ireland finals. He scored just 13 seconds after the game started.
On 16 January 2024, Rock announced he was retiring from playing for Dublin. He now works as an expert on the GAAGO podcast, sharing his knowledge of the game.
Career Statistics
This table shows how many games Rock played and how many points he scored for the Dublin senior team in major competitions.
| Team | Season | National League | Leinster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Dublin | 2013 | Division 1 | 2 | 0–02 | 3 | 0–06 | 3 | 0–04 | 8 | 0–12 |
| 2014 | 0 | 0–00 | 3 | 0–08 | 2 | 0–02 | 5 | 0–10 | ||
| 2015 | 9 | 1–52 | 3 | 2–12 | 4 | 0–11 | 16 | 3–75 | ||
| 2016 | 9 | 1–40 | 3 | 1–28 | 4 | 0–30 | 16 | 2–98 | ||
| 2017 | 8 | 0–48 | 3 | 2–11 | 3 | 1–20 | 14 | 3–79 | ||
| 2018 | 8 | 1–32 | 3 | 2–16 | 4 | 0–25 | 15 | 3–73 | ||
| 2019 | 7 | 2–32 | 1 | 0–04 | 5 | 1–35 | 13 | 3–71 | ||
| 2020 | 7 | 3-37 | 3 | 1-16 | 2 | 1-10 | 12 | 5-63 | ||
| 2021 | 0 | 0-00 | 3 | 0-08 | 1 | 0-07 | 4 | 0-15 | ||
| 2022 | 3 | 0-12 | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 3 | 0-12 | ||
| Total | 53 | 8–255 | 25 | 8–109 | 28 | 3–144 | 106 | 19–508 | ||
Personal Life
Rock is married to Niamh McEvoy, who is also a star Gaelic footballer for the Dublin ladies' team. They have a daughter named Sadie Rose Rock.
In 2020, he started a project to help teach others his free-taking skills, called the "Dean Rock Free Taking Project."
Honours
Here is a list of the major awards and championships Dean Rock has won.
- Dublin City University
- Sigerson Cup (1): 2012
- Ballymun Kickhams
- Leinster Senior Club Football Championship (1): 2012
- Dublin Senior Football Championship (2): 2012, 2020
- Dublin
- All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (8): 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023
- Leinster Senior Football Championship (10): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
- National Football League (5): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021
- All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship (1): 2010
- Leinster Under-21 Football Championship (2): 2009, 2010
- Individual
- GAA-GPA All Stars Awards (3): 2016, 2017, 2020
