As Leamy was not selected for the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa, he played in Ireland's 2009 Summer Tests. He played against Australia and Fiji in the 2009 November Tests before injury ruled him out of the remaining match against South Africa. He missed the 2010 Six Nations and Summer Tests through injury, but returned to play against Samoa, New Zealand and Argentina in the 2010 November Tests. He played in four of Ireland's 2011 Six Nations games, and won his 50th cap for Ireland when he came on as a replacement against England in March 2011. Leamy was selected in Ireland's training squad for the 2011 World Cup warm-ups in August, and was also selected in the final 30-man squad to travel to New Zealand.
