Ryan O'Leary is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 professional footballer who plays for Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock F.C.

Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...

. O'Leary is the son of former Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland national football team

The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....

 international footballer Pierce O'Leary

Pierce O'Leary

Pierce O'Leary is an Irish former professional footballer. Pierce is the brother of former Arsenal star and fellow Irish international David O'Leary....

 and the nephew of David O'Leary

David O'Leary

David Anthony O'Leary is an Irish football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United and later he managed Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai...

.

Club career

O'Leary attended St Aloysius' College

St. Aloysius' College, Glasgow

St. Aloysius' College is a selective fee-paying independent Jesuit school in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1859, and named after the famous Jesuit, Aloysius Gonzaga. Its strong Jesuit ethos emphasises practice of the Roman Catholic faith both in the church and in the community, with many...

 in Glasgow. He started his football career with Aberdeen

Aberdeen F.C.

Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...

 and joined Kilmarnock for an undisclosed fee in 2005. After appearing sporadically for Kilmarnock due to injuries, Gordon Chisholm

Gordon Chisholm

Gordon Chisholm is a Scottish professional football former player and manager. Chisholm played as a central defender for Sunderland, Hibernian, Dundee and Partick Thistle....

 signed O'Leary for Dundee on loan until the end of the 2009–10 season.

O'Leary left Kilmarnock when his contract expired in 2010 taking 9 months out of football for personal reasons. However, after failing to win a deal at Vancouver Whitecaps following a trial, he returned to Kilmarnock and signed a short-term deal in March 2011.

International career

In February 2007 he was named in a Republic of Ireland under-21 squad, but he declined, choosing to represent the country of his birth instead. He has since represented Scotland at under–21 level. Having a Canadian mother, Ryan also has a Canadian passport and remains eligible to represent Canada.

External links

• Ryan O'Leary profile at Kilmarnockfc.co.uk