Kieran McKenna is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of EFL Championship side Ipswich Town.
McKenna began his footballing career as a youth team player at Northern Irish sides Enniskillen Town United and Ballinamallard United. He joined Tottenham Hotspur as a youth player in 2002, after signing a scholarship contract with Spurs. Born in London, England, McKenna had represented the Northern Ireland national team at under-19 and under-21 level.
In 2009, at the age of 22, McKenna retired from playing due to an ongoing hip injury which prevented him from making a senior first-team appearance for Tottenham. Following retirement, McKenna began coaching within the Tottenham Hotspur academy, progressing to become the club's under-18s manager in 2015. In 2016, he departed Tottenham for the under-18s manager position at Manchester United.
Prior to the 2018–19 season, McKenna was promoted to the first-team coaching staff at Manchester United to become assistant manager under José Mourinho. He worked with the first-team coaching staff at Manchester United until December 2021, when he left to become manager of Ipswich Town. In his first full season at Ipswich Town, McKenna achieved promotion to the EFL Championship.
