Eoin Kelly

Playing career

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.

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.

University

During his studies at the Limerick Institute of Technology, Kelly was an automatic inclusion on the college hurling team. In 2005 he was captain of the team that faced the University of Limerick in the final of the Fitzgibbon Cup. LIT failed to bend under the weight of history and recorded a comprehensive 2–13 to 3–4 victory to claim the title for the very first time.

Club

Kelly was just sixteen-year-old when he became a regular member of the Mullinahone senior hurling team. After winning several divisional championship titles, the highlight of his club career came in 2002 when Mullinahone reached the final of the senior championship for only the second time in their history. Local kingpins Thurles Sarsfields provided the opposition, however, in spite of leading by six points coming into the final quarter, the game ended in a 0–14 apiece draw. The replay was more conclusive. Kelly scored a remarkable 2–7 and picked up the man of the match award as Mullinahone claimed a 2–10 to 1–11 victory. Not only was it Kelly's first championship medal but it was also a first title for the club.

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

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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

International

Kelly was picked for duty with the national team in 2011, as Ireland faced Scotland in the composite rules shinty-hurling series of games. Ireland won the two-game on an aggregate score of 3–25 to 3–19.

Recognition

During the GAA 125 celebrations in 2009, Kelly came in for particular praise when he was chosen at right corner-forward on a special Munster team of the quarter century. Later that year he was chosen on a list of 125 of the all-time greatest hurlers in a special Irish Independent poll.

After announcing his retirement, Kelly received widespread acclaim from former colleagues and opponents.

Tipperary captain Brendan Maher hailed Kelly as the best player he's ever seen: "I think if you put him in any position and gave him time there he’d be able to master it. He’s the best I’ve ever seen. I can’t speak about the players of the past. Obviously there’s many great men that have played for Tipperary but definitely in my lifetime he’s the best I’ve ever seen and I reckon he’ll be the best we’ll ever see."

Former All-Ireland-winning manager Liam Sheedy said: "Inspirational player, a magnificent captain and a dressing room icon."

Fellow Tipperary teammate and two-time All-Ireland medallist Brendan Cummins described Kelly as "...the complete forward."

Managerial career

Tipperary

On 13 December 2019, it was confirmed that Kelly had been added to the Tipperary senior management team and served as a selector for Liam Sheedy during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Waterford

In September 2022, Kelly joined Davy Fitzgerald's backroom team at the beginning of Fitzgerald's second spell as Waterford senior team manager.

Personal life

Born in Mullinahone on the Tipperary-Kilkenny border, Kelly was educated at the local national school and later attended Scoil Ruáin in nearby Killenaule. After completing his Leaving Cert at St Kieran's College in Kilkenny, he studied engineering at the Limerick Institute of Technology. He currently works as a finance rep for Bank of Ireland.

On 11 February 2011 Kelly married long-term girlfriend Sarah Maher.

Honours

Team

St Kieran's College

All-Ireland Colleges' Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2000

Leinster Colleges' Senior Hurling Championship (2): 1999, 2000

Limerick Institute of Technology

Fitzgibbon Cup (1): 2005 (c)

Mullinahone

Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2002

Séamus Ó Riain Cup (1) 2020 (c)

South Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship (12): 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2019 (c)

Tipperary Intermediate Football Championship (3): 2000, 2006, 2011

Tipperary Junior Football Championship (1): 2019

Tipperary

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (2): 2001, 2010 (c)

Munster Senior Hurling Championship (5): 2001, 2008 (c), 2009, 2011 (c) 2012

National Hurling League (2): 2001, 2008 (c)

Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship (2): 1999, 2003(c)

Munster Minor Hurling Championship (2): 1997, 1999

Munster

Railway Cup (2): 2001, 2013

Individual

Awards

Munster Hurling Team of the Last 25 Years (1984–2009): Right corner-forward

All-Star Awards (6): 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010

GPA Awards (3): 2006, 2008, 2010

All-Stars Young Hurler of the Year (2): 2001, 2002

In May 2020, a public poll conducted by RTÉ.ie named Kelly in the full-forward line alongside Nicky English and Séamus Callanan in a team of hurlers who had won All Stars during the era of The Sunday Game.

Also in May 2020, the Irish Independent named Kelly at number seventeen in its "Top 20 hurlers in Ireland over the past 50 years".