Colleges
During his schooling at St Kieran's College in Kilkenny,Kelly established himself as a key member of the senior hurling team. In 1999 he won his first Leinster medal following a 3–13 to 1–11 defeat of Dublin Colleges. [10]
Kelly added a second Leinster medal to his collection in 2000,as Dublin Colleges were once again defeated by 2–13 to 1–10. St Flannan's College provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland decider. Having come close to beating the Ennis-based school at the same stage the previous year,St Kieran's made no mistake this time and recorded a 1–10 to 0–9 victory,giving Kelly an All-Ireland medal. [11]
Minor and under-21
Kelly was just fifteen-years-old when he made his minor championship debut for Tipperary as a goalkeeper in 1997. In a progressive move by the selectors he was later moved from the number one position to a more natural place in the full-forward line. He collected his first Munster medal that year following a 2–13 to 1–13 defeat of Clare.
Tipperary failed to retain their provincial crown the following year,however,in 1999 Kelly added a second Munster medal to his collection as Clare were defeated once again. Tipp progressed to the All-Ireland final where old rivals Galway provided the opposition. A 0–13 to 0–10 score line resulted in defeat for Kelly's side.
By this stage Kelly was also a key fixture on the Tipperary under-21 team. He was still only seventeen years-old when he came on as a substitute against Clare to claim his first Munster medal in that grade in 1999.
In 2003 Tipperary broke through Limerick's stranglehold on the championship and Kelly secured a second Munster medal following a 2–14 to 0–17 defeat of Cork after extra-time.
Senior
Beginnings
Kelly made his senior championship debut when he came on as a substitute on 23 July 2000 in a 1–14 to 0–15 All-Ireland quarter-final defeat by Galway,on a day when he doubled as sub-goalie. [14] [15]
Early successes
In 2001 Kelly became a regular member of the starting fifteen as Tipperary made it all the way to the league final. Clare provided the opposition and were left to rue five missed goal opportunities as Tipp claimed a 1–19 to 0–17 victory. [16] It was Kelly's first National League medal. Later that year he added a Munster medal to his collection as Tipperary defeated Limerick by 2–16 to 1–17 to take their first provincial title in eight years. [17] On 9 September 2001 Kelly lined out in his first All-Ireland decider as Tipperary faced Galway. The westerners put it up to Tipp,however,two goals by Mark O'Leary gave the Munster men the threshold to withstand a Galway comeback. With nine minutes to go Galway were only a point in arrears,however,Tipperary outscored Galway by five to three in those closing minutes. At the final whistle Tipperary were the winners by 2–18 to 2–15 with Kelly collecting his first All-Ireland medal. [18] Kelly was later honoured with his first All-Star,while he was also named Vodafone Young Hurler of the Year.
Tipperary surrendered their Munster crown to Waterford in 2002,before later exiting the championship with a defeat by Kilkenny at the semi-final stage. [19] In spite of ending the year with no silverware,Kelly later collected a second All-Star while he retained the title of Young Hurler of the Year.
Tipperary's fortunes took a downturn over the next few years,however,on a personal level Kelly picked up three more successive All-Stars between 2004 and 2006,joining Pat Hartigan as only the second player to win five All-Stars by the age of twenty-four. [20] [21] [22]
In 2007 Kelly endured a frustrating season. After missing out due to a groin injury,he was later sensationally dropped from the starting fifteen by manager Babs Keating for Tipperary's All-Ireland quarter-final meeting with Wexford. [23]
Return to success
The appointment of Liam Sheedy as Tipperary's new manager saw Kelly return to a more prominent role as captain of the side. Tipperary remained undefeated during their 2008 league campaign and qualified for the decider against Galway. A Lar Corbett goal proved decisive in the 3–18 to 3–16 victory. [24] It was Kelly's second National League medal. He later collected a second Munster medal as Tipperary continued their winning streak with a 2–21 to 0–19 defeat of a resurgent Clare. [25]
Tipperary retained their provincial crown in 2009,with Kelly collecting a third Munster medal following a 4–14 to 2–16 defeat of Waterford. [26] On 6 September 2009 Tipperary faced four-in-a-row hopefuls Kilkenny in the All-Ireland decider. For long periods Tipp looked the likely winners,however,late goals from Henry Shefflin and substitute Martin Comerford finally killed off their efforts to secure a 2–22 to 0–23 victory. [27]
Three successive Munster titles proved beyond Tipperary,however,in spite of a shock defeat by Cork in the provincial quarter-final,Tipperary used the qualifiers to good effect and qualified for the All-Ireland decider on 5 September 2010. Kilkenny were the opponents once again as they sought a fifth successive All-Ireland crown title. "The Cats" lost talisman Henry Shefflin early in the game due to injury,while Tipp's Lar Corbett ran riot and scored a hat-trick of goals before Noel McGrath added a fourth. The 4–17 to 1–18 victory gave Kelly,who was held scoreless throughout the match,his second All-Ireland medal,while he also had the honour of lifting the Liam MacCarthy Cup. [28] He later won a sixth All-Star. [29]
Tipperary reclaimed the provincial crown in 2011 following a huge 7–19 to 0–19 drubbing of Waterford in the decider. [30] It was Kelly's fourth Munster medal. Tipperary subsequently faced Kilkenny in a third successive All-Ireland decider on 4 September 2011. Goals by Michael Fennelly and Richie Hogan in either half gave Kilkenny,who many viewed as the underdogs going into the game,a 2–17 to 1–16 victory. [31] Kelly was marked by Noel Hickey and was held scoreless from play for his second successive All-Ireland Hurling Final.
Tipperary won their fourth Munster crown in five years in 2012 as they easily retained the title. [32] The 2–17 to 0–16 defeat of Waterford gave Kelly a fifth provincial winners' medal.
Decline
After a poor start to their 2014 championship campaign,Tipperary reached the All-Ireland final on 7 September 2014. Kelly started the game on the bench but was introduced as a substitute in what some consider to be the greatest game of all-time. Kelly made little impact,and was held scoreless in his third successive final. John O'Dwyer had the chance to win the game,however,his late free drifted wide resulting in a draw. [33] Kelly remained on the bench for the replay which Kilkenny won by 2–17 to 2–14. [34]
Kelly announced his retirement from inter-county hurling on 1 December 2014. Speaking to RTÉSport,Kelly said "Everyone has their time in the county jersey and my time has come now,I'm happy with the decision I have made in that now is the time to walk away. This season I had very limited game time and I'm also aware that Tipperary have a good up and coming team now". [35] [36]
Inter-provincial
In 2001 Kelly was first chosen on the Munster inter-provincial team. He was at right corner-forward as the southern province faced Connacht in the decider. A 1–21 to 1–15 victory gave Kelly his first Railway Cup medal.
Kelly was a regular on the team over the next decade,serving as captain in 2006 and 2012,however,these campaigns ended without success.
In 2013 Kelly was a peripheral player on the team,however,he came on as a substitute in the final against Connacht. The game faded out in the final quarter,however,Munster claimed a comprehensive 1–22 to 0–15 victory,with Kelly collecting a second winners' medal after coming on as a substitute. [37]
