Stephen Cluxton (born 17 December 1981) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays as a goalkeeper at senior level for the Dublin county team.

His father, Pat, won a lot of medals with Postal Celtic, while Cluxton himself played with St David's Primary School and Tolka Rovers.

[2] Cluxton was eventually persuaded to join the St David's Gaelic football team and began as a corner-forward because of his ability to kick the ball off the ground before later moving to corner-back.

[7] After a disappointing debut season in the grade, Cluxton won a Leinster Championship medal in 2002 after a 1–17 to 2–04 defeat of Wicklow in the final at St Conleth's Park.

"[15] Reports suggested that Cluxton walked home alone from Croke Park without his gearbag as many suspected that he would receive a lengthy ban.

The uncertainty led to Cluxton questioning his future involvement with the team, particularly when St. Patrick's Athletic and other professional football clubs offered him a contract to switch codes and play in the League of Ireland.

[19] On 15 July 2007, Cluxton won his fourth Leinster Championship medal when Dublin completed a hat-trick of provincial titles following a 3–14 to 1–14 defeat of Laois in the final.

[20] In spite of some questionable kick-outs in the All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Kerry, Cluxton conceded just two goals in six championship games and was presented with his third All Star Award.

[21] Cluxton won a fifth Leinster Championship medal on 20 July 2008 when Dublin retained the title for a fourth successive year after a 3–23 to 0–09 defeat of Wexford in the final.

Dublin surrendered their title to Meath in 2010 in a game which saw Cluxton concede five goals, however, he won a seventh Leinster Championship medal the following year after a 2–12 to 1–12 defeat of Wexford in the final.

In the 72nd minute of the game and with the sides level he scored a free kick to secure a 1–12 to 1–11 victory and a first All-Ireland title for Dublin in 16 years.

[26] Shortly after the final whistle, Cluxton was presented with the match ball by Tomás Ó Sé, however, in keeping with his intensely private persona, he avoided the post-match celebrations and retreated to the dressing room.

[29] Dublin later surrendered their All-Ireland title, however, Cluxton ended the season with another All Star nomination but lost out to Donegal's Paul Durcan for the goalkeeping position.

[31] On 28 April 2013, he won his first silverware as captain when the Dublin team defeated Tyrone by 0–18 to 0–17 to win the National Football League title for the first time in 20 years.

[36][37] On 27 April 2014, Cluxton won a second successive National League medal as captain of the team following Dublin's 3–19 to 1–10 defeat of Derry in defending their title.

During the subsequent Leinster semi-final defeat of Longford, Cluxton suffered an injury to the lower back after a challenge by James McGivney.

The injury resulted in him missing his first championship game since 2004, however, he won a 14th Leinster medal as a non-playing substitute after Dublin's 1–25 to 0–10 defeat of Laois in the final.

[51][52] On 2 September 2018, Cluxton made his 200th appearance for Dublin when he captained the team to a record-equalling fourth successive All-Ireland title after a 2–17 to 1–14 defeat of Tyrone in the final.

[citation needed] His absence was a discussion point in the media throughout the year, with some speculation as to whether no announcement was in-keeping with Cluxton’s low profile personality, or whether the departure was more acrimonious in nature.

[citation needed] However, despite his absence the previous two years, Cluxton was named as a substitute in Dublin's round 7 division 2 match against Louth in March 2023.

[68] Irish Times writer Malachy Clerkin described him as having had "one of the GAA's greatest careers",[69] while Colm O'Rourke has described Cluxton as "the best goalkeeper I have seen".