EXPERIENCED PROP DENIS Buckley will leave Connacht at the end of this season, the province have announced.<\/p>\n
The 35-year-old will end a 17-year association with his home province and departs\u00a0as the club\u2019s second most capped player ever, with\u00a0275 appearances, after John Muldoon (327).<\/p>\n
Buckley joined Connacht\u2019s academy in 2009 and made his senior debut in September 2011, coming off the bench against Benetton Treviso in the PRO12.<\/p>\n
The Roscommon native was part of the squad that won the Guinness PRO12 in 2016, and was twice named in the PRO14\/URC Team of the Season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter 17 incredible years, the time has come for me to move on from Connacht Rugby,\u201d Buckley said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to put into words what this place has meant to me. From pulling on the jersey for my first cap against Treviso in 2011 or to reaching 275 caps and becoming the second most capped player in the club\u2019s history, every moment has been a privilege. To be part of this club\u2019s journey and to share the pitch with so many great teammates, coaches, and staff has been something I\u2019ll always be proud of.<\/p>\n
\u201cA huge thank you to everyone behind the scenes who keep the wheels turning, and to the fans who have supported us through the highs and the lows \u2014 your passion never goes unnoticed, and it means more than you know. I\u2019d like to extend a special thank you to Creggs RFC \u2014 not only for introducing me to the game, but for the constant support behind the scenes, from my early days in underage and Connacht development squads right through my career.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost importantly, I want to thank my family for their constant support through every challenge and milestone along the way. And to my wife Gillie \u2014 thank you for everything you\u2019ve sacrificed, for your patience, and for being such a steady support. I\u2019m so excited for what the future holds for us, especially with the recent arrival of our beautiful daughter, Clodagh.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs for what\u2019s next, I\u2019m still exploring potential opportunities, and I\u2019ll make an announcement on my future in the coming weeks. Whatever happens, I\u2019ll always look back on my time here with huge pride and gratitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cConnacht will always be home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXPERIENCED PROP DENIS Buckley will leave Connacht at the end of this season, the province have announced. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":469019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[112481,71791,205839,159939,18,19,17,2525,132,205840],"class_list":{"0":"post-469018","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-benetton-treviso","9":"tag-connacht","10":"tag-denis-buckley","11":"tag-departure","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-rugby","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-wave-goodbye"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116520258618079080","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/469019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}