Born on 25 June 2002,[1] Keane Barry is from Duleek, County Meath, Ireland.[4] The son of Neil and Vivienne Barry,[5] he started playing darts at the age of four after asking his father Neil to let him join in on his practice; he claimed to hit his first score of 180 at age five.[6] He began competing in adult tournaments at a pub in Tullyallen, County Louth.[6] Outside of darts, Barry played underage Gaelic football for Duleek/Bellewstown GAA.[7] He was educated at St Mary's Diocesan School in Drogheda.[8]
Career
2015–2019: Early career
Barry started competing alongside his father, Neil, in the local Duleek and District Darts League, representing the Greyhound Bar.[6][9] He showed promise from an early age and was awarded the league's Star of the Future Award in 2015, at the age of 12.[10] He became captain of the Irish youth national team and was a finalist in the 2016 WDF Europe Youth Cup boys' event, where he lost 3–1 to Justin van Tergouw of the Netherlands.[11][12] He won his first British Darts Organisation (BDO) youth tournament at the 2016 Northern Ireland Open.[13][14] At age 15, he was touted as the number-one youth player in Ireland by former professional Mick McGowan.[15]
After playing the early rounds of the Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay in Tramore, Barry qualified for the final which was contested during the World Grand Prix in October.[23] In the lead-up to the match, he claimed his first BDO senior title at the Northern Ireland Matchplay with a 6–2 victory over Paul Hogan.[24] Barry beat Liam Gallagher to win the Irish Matchplay, coming back from 5–2 down to win 6–5 and surviving eleven missed match darts from Gallagher. This victory secured him a place at the 2020 PDC World Championship.[25]
In February, Barry won the JDC Super 16 title in his last JDC event with a 5–3 win over Luke Littler.[31] He spent the rest of 2020 competing in PDC Development Tour and Challenge Tour events. He picked up his sole Challenge Tour title in event five, beating Maikel Verberk 5–4 in the final.[32] He won back-to-back Development Tour titles in events eight and nine: he won five straight legs to defeat Ryan Meikle 5–3 in the final of the former,[33] before beating Meikle again the following day to claim the event nine title with a 5–4 score. He finished second on the 2020 Development Tour Order of Merit to secure a PDC Tour Card for the first time and a place at the 2021 PDC World Championship.[34]
Barry claimed his first Alexandra Palace win in the first round of the 2022 World Championship. He established a 2–0 lead against Royden Lam before Lam won the next two sets to level the match at 2–2, with Barry taking the final set to secure a 3–2 victory.[37] Barry almost produced a surprise result in the second round by going 2–1 up against Jonny Clayton – one of the tournament favourites – before ultimately losing 3–2.[38]
At the UK Open, Barry had his best run at a PDC major event by reaching the semi-finals, including eliminating the defending champion James Wade 10–4 in the quarter-finals.[39] He lost 11–6 in the semi-finals to Michael Smith.[40] His run at the tournament saw him earn £20,000 in prize money, which caused him to rise from 66th to 52nd on the PDC Order of Merit.[41][42] Barry also competed on the Development Tour that year, closing his campaign with three titles at events two, 12, and 15.[43][44][45]
2023–present
Barry reached the quarter-finals of the German Grand Prix and the Dutch Championship (pictured) on the 2023 European Tour.
Barry, ranked world number 45, was eliminated in the first round of the 2023 World Championship in a shock 3–1 loss to South African qualifier Grant Sampson.[46] On the European Tour, Barry reached the quarter-finals at both the German Grand Prix and the Dutch Championship; he was eliminated by reigning world champion Michael Smith and three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen, respectively.[47][48] His results on the European Tour saw him qualify for the European Championship, where he succumbed to a 6–1 defeat to former world champion Gerwyn Price in the first round.[49] Barry also represented Ireland in the PDC World Cup for the first time, partnering William O'Connor.[50]
Barry took one of the two Development Tour qualifying spots for the 2025 World Championship after winning three titles in 2024.[57] He claimed back-to-back titles at events two and three before adding a third win at event twelve.[58][59] At his sixth PDC World Championship, he won his opening match 3–1 against Kim Huybrechts,[60] before a 3–0 defeat by Gerwyn Price in the second round.[61] Barry and O'Connor reached the quarter-finals of the 2025 PDC World Cup, where they were eliminated by Northern Ireland.[62]
Personal life
After leaving school, Barry worked for his father's scaffolding business.[63] Barry has been associated with darts manufacturer Target since 2019.[64] His darts nickname is "Dynamite" – in reference to his quick throwing style – and his walk-on music is "TNT" by AC/DC.[65][2]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
1 (30 July 2025) [3] 
