Cillian McDaid Biography

Cillian McDaid retires from AFL football after failing to make his senior debut.

"We're accepting of Cillian's decision to return to Ireland. It's a huge challenge for these players to travel and live on the other side of the world," Carlton head of football Brad Lloyd said.

Carlton sign Irishman Cillian McDaid to a two-year deal as an international rookie.

"We're very pleased Cillian has agreed to join Carlton, and we think he is an exciting young prospect for our club," Blues list manager Stephen Silvagni said.

"We have followed Cillian's progress closely throughout the year and he uses the ball incredibly well. He is a determined young man of terrific character and we feel he will be a good cultural fit for our playing group too."

Ireland's latest two AFL offerings slipped into Melbourne under the cover of darkness in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Teenagers Cillian McDaid and Stefan Okunbor are in Australia for a battery of agility, fitness and skill tests under AFL recruiters' eyes, with the end goal of becoming professional footballers.

They already saw off an exclusive group of 23 countrymen to make it this far, advancing from the AFL Europe Talent Combine in November last year.

Irish hopefuls Stefan Okunbor and Cillian McDaid will travel to Australia later this year after being invited by the League to test at the NAB AFL Draft Combine.

The pair were among four prospects from Ireland to train with the NAB AFL Academy in Florida earlier this year as part of the Academy's high performance camp.

Their athleticism and developing skills with the ball impressed recruiters and AFL talent scouts enough to win a call to come to Australia in September to take part in the Academy's training camp, and then trial in front of clubs at October's national combine at Etihad Stadium.