| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (2003-06-06)6 June 2003 (age 22) | ||
| Place of birth | Riverstown,County Sligo, Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bolton Wanderers (loan) | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Arrow Harps | |||
| 2016–2021 | Sligo Rovers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2022 | Sligo Rovers | 32 | (11) |
| 2022 | Celtic B | 4 | (2) |
| 2022– | Celtic | 23 | (5) |
| 2022 | →Queen's Park (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2023 | →Shamrock Rovers (loan) | 30 | (5) |
| 2024 | →Shamrock Rovers (loan) | 29 | (13) |
| 2026 | →Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021–2022 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 5 | (4) |
| 2023–2024 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 8 | (1) |
| 2025– | Republic of Ireland | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:25, 2 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:03, 16 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Johnny Kenny (born 6 June 2003) is an Irish professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forEFL League One clubBolton Wanderers on loan fromScottish Premiership clubCeltic and theRepublic of Ireland national team.
In January 2021, Kenny signed his first professional contract withSligo Rovers.[2] He made his debut in March, in a 1–1 draw withDundalk.[3] One month later, he scored his first senior goal againstFinn Harps.[4] Like his father Johnny also scored in European football for Sligo.[5]
Kenny signed a five-year deal withCeltic in January 2022 for an undisclosed fee.[6]
Kenny signed forScottish Championship sideQueen's Park on a season long loan deal in August 2022.[7][8] After failing to score in his 12 appearances for the club, his loan spell was cut short in December 2022.[9]
On 28 December 2022, it was announced that Kenny would be joiningLeague of Ireland Premier Division clubShamrock Rovers on loan for their2023 season.[10] After returning toCeltic at the end of his loan spell, it was announced on 21 January 2024 that Kenny would return toShamrock Rovers on another loan deal for the 2024 season.[11] On 7 November 2024, Kenny scored in a 2–1 victory overThe New Saints in theUEFA Conference League.[12] On 12 December, he scored two more goals for Shamrock Rovers in their 3–0 win overBorac Banja Luka in the same competition.[13]
After impressive form in theUEFA Conference League during his loan spell, Kenny returned toCeltic in January, making his senior competitive debut for the club on 11 January 2025, replacingAdam Idah from the bench in a 4–1 win away toRoss County, in which he assisted the final goal of the game forLuke McCowan.[14] On 14 May 2025, Kenny made his first start for the club and scored his first goal for the club in a 5–1 win away toAberdeen atPittodrie Stadium.[15][16] In June 2025, Celtic reportedly turned down a £500,000 bid fromEFL League One clubBolton Wanderers for Kenny.[17] On 8 August 2025, Kenny signed a new four-year-contract with Celtic until the summer of 2029.[18][19] On the 23rd of August, Kenny scored his first goal atCeltic Park. Coming on as a second half substitute, he contributed the third goal in a 3-0 win over Livingston.[20] The departure ofBrendan Rodgers and the subsequent arrival ofMartin O’Neill provided Kenny with an opportunity to lead the Celtic attack. Kenny scored twice in a 4-0 victory over Falkirk on 29 October 2025, inMartin O'Neill's first game back at Parkhead.[21] He scored the first goal in a 3–1Scottish League Cup semi-final win over Rangers. His header coming in the 25th minute from anArne Engels corner.[22] He continued his goal scoring form with the opening goal in a 4–0 home win over Kilmarnock on November 9th.[23]
On 2 February 2026, Kenny signed forEFL League One clubBolton Wanderers on loan until the end of the season, rejecting potential loan moves to Danish league leadersAarhus and German clubSchalke 04 in the process.[24][25]
In November 2021, Kenny made his debut for theRepublic of Ireland under-19 team, scoring in a 3–2 victory overMontenegro.[26][27] Kenny also scored on hisRepublic of Ireland under-21 debut in a 2–1 win againstIceland in March 2023.[28]
On 1 September 2025, Kenny was called up to the seniorRepublic of Ireland squad for the first time, replacing the injuredTroy Parrott for their2026 FIFA World Cup qualification fixtures againstHungary andArmenia.[29] On 16 November 2025, Kenny made his debut as a substitute in a 3–2 win away toHungary in a2026 World Cup qualifier, securing second place in the group and progression to qualifying playoffs.[30]
His father, Johnny Snr. was also a professional footballer and played forSligo Rovers in the 1990s.[31] He is first cousins with brothersLiam Kerrigan andSean Kerrigan, who are both also professional footballers.[32][33] His brothers Ciaran, Niall and Patrick are members ofShamrock Gaels GAA club and were key contributors as they won the 2025Sligo Senior Football Championship, ending a 33 year wait.[34]
Kenny grew up around theRiverstown area in Sligo alongside fellow footballerOwen Elding.[35]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe[c] | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sligo Rovers | 2021 | LOI Premier Division | 32 | 11 | 1 | 0 | – | 1[d] | 1 | – | 34 | 12 | ||
| Celtic B | 2022–23 | Lowland Football League | 4 | 2 | – | 2[e] | 1 | 6 | 3 | |||||
| Celtic | 2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2024–25 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 1 | ||||
| 2025–26 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3[f] | 0 | – | 22 | 6 | |||
| Total | 23 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | 32 | 7 | |||
| Queen's Park (loan) | 2022–23 | Scottish Championship | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 12 | 0 | |||
| Shamrock Rovers (loan) | 2023 | LOI Premier Division | 30 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | 4[g] | 0 | 2[h] | 1 | 37 | 6 | |
| Shamrock Rovers (loan) | 2024 | LOI Premier Division | 29 | 13 | 1 | 0 | – | 9[i] | 7 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 20 | |
| Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 2025–26 | EFL League One | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 130 | 36 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 160 | 48 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | 2025 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Shamrock Rovers
Celtic
Individual