Seán Kelly (Galway Gaelic footballer)

Seán Kelly (born 12 April 1997) is a Gaelic footballer who plays as a defender for Moycullen and the Galway county team. He captained Galway in the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final and was also captain for the 2024 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, though he was unable to start that game.

Seán Kelly

Personal information
Irish name	Seán Ó Ceallaigh
Sport	Gaelic football
Position	Full Back
Born	(1997-04-12) 12 April 1997 (age 27) Galway, Ireland
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Club(s)
Years	Club
2015–	Moycullen
Club titles
Galway titles	2
Colleges(s)
Years	College
2017–2022	NUI Galway
College titles
Sigerson titles	1
Inter-county(ies)
Years	County
2018–	Galway
Inter-county titles
Connacht titles	2

Playing career

Club

Kelly scored an extra-time goal for Moycullen against Strokestown in the 2022 Connacht Senior Club Football Championship semi-final to send his team through to the final against Tourlestrane.^[1]

College

Kelly played on the NUI Galway team that lost the 2018 Sigerson Cup final.^[2] He was still on the NUI Galway team when the university won the 2022 Sigerson Cup, the only player to have featured in both games.^[3]

Inter-county

Kelly played for Galway in the 2017 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship final loss to Dublin.^[4]

Kevin Walsh introduced him to the senior county team in 2018. After Walsh's successor Pádraic Joyce took over as manager, Kelly was injured in the first half of the 2021 Connacht Senior Football Championship final defeat to Mayo and was a loss for his team.^[5] Joyce appointed Kelly as captain of the Galway team for 2022, with Matthew Tierney as vice-captain.^[6]

In the 2022 All-Ireland quarter-final between Armagh and Galway at Croke Park, he — along with Armagh joint^[7] captain Aidan Nugent — was controversially^{[8][9][10][11]} shown a straight red card following a brawl before extra-time. Television cameras could not detect any involvement by Kelly in the violence, apart from annoyance and efforts to point out that Armagh's Tiernan Kelly had attempted to gouge the eyes of Kelly's teammate Damien Comer.^[12] Kelly was later described as a "sacrificial lamb".^[13] Kelly would have missed the semi-final against Derry had referee David Coldrick's decision stood. But it was set to be overturned in the absence of any wrongdoing on Kelly's part.^[14] Colm O'Rourke later wrote in the Sunday Independent: "Seán Kelly acted with incredible restraint during the fracas at the end of normal time, but was put on death row for next weekend's All-Ireland semi-final. He did not deserve that and his gesture in immediately shaking hands with Aidan Nugent after both were sent off by David Coldrick said a lot about the man."^[15] O'Rourke wrote elsewhere in the same publication: "If anything, Kelly was the closest thing to Mother Teresa, as he looked more a peacemaker than a combatant and showed remarkable restraint in not flattening Tiernan Kelly [who had just gouged the eyes of Damien Comer]".^[16]

Namd in the starting line-up for the 2024 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, Kelly was unable to start, with Cein Darcy replacing him in a late change, just before the game began.^[17][18][19]

Personal life

Kelly's father, Padraig "Dandy" Kelly, was a substitute for Galway in the 1983 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final defeat to Dublin. He died in 2001 at the age of 40.^[20]

Honours

Moycullen

• Galway Senior Football Championship (2): 2020,^[21] 2022

Galway

• Connacht Senior Football Championship (2): 2018, 2022

NUI Galway

• Sigerson Cup: 2022

References

1. "Moycullen survive Strokestown scare after extra-time". Hogan Stand. 20 November 2022.
2. Cormican, Eoghan (10 February 2022). "NUI Galway pass test of resolve to reach another Sigerson final". Irish Examiner. Sean Kelly is the sole survivor from the NUIG team that narrowly lost the 2018 final.
3. Brosnan, Maurice (20 February 2022). "'I am so happy for them. Finally, one of the Tierneys has it!'". The42.ie. The late Pádraig Kelly was a central part of that UCG team too. His sons, Eoghan, Seán and Paul, all started this week for NUIG. Two of them are on the Galway squad alongside Matthew.
4. McCoy, Niall (21 July 2022). "Seán Kelly's eye on a perfect season finale". RTÉ.
5. Keys, Colm (10 January 2022). "Sean Kelly takes the Galway captain's armband for 2022". Irish Independent. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
6. O'Brien, Kevin. "Moycullen defender appointed Galway football captain". The42.ie. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
7. "'It was bonkers, that's the only word to describe it' – Ex-Galway star Joe Bergin on melee red cards". independent. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
8. Fallon, John (27 June 2022). "John O'Mahony: Unbelievable that players trying to stop brawl were sent off". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
9. "O'Mahony says red cards for Kelly and Nugent both undeserved". The Irish Times. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
10. "O'Neill calls on GAA to 'tidy up its act' after brawl". 27 June 2022. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022 – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
11. "CCCC set to examine Armagh–Galway melee later today". 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022 – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
12. "The Sunday Game questioned the decision to send off Armagh's Aidan Nugent and Galway's Seán Kelly while Colm Cooper asked whether the GAA's penalties are severe enough". The Sunday Game. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022. 26 June 2022
13. Tighe, Tony (28 June 2022). "Cadogan: Galway captain Kelly was 'sacrificial lamb'". Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022 – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
14. "GAA: Galway's Seán Kelly set to be cleared for All-Ireland semi-final against Derry". independent. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
15. "Colm O'Rourke: The problem is simple - GAA rules are made to be broken". independent. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
16. "Galway walking on water ahead of Derry duel". independent. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
17. "Galway unchanged for All Ireland Final". Radio Kerry. 26 July 2024.
18. "D'Aarcy[sic] drives through Armagh traffic to steer Galway back in front". Hogan Stand. 28 July 2024.
19. "Pádraic Joyce: No one to blame but ourselves". RTÉ News. 28 July 2024.
20. "All-Ireland Football Final: Skipper Sean Kelly's calming presence vital for Galway". BBC. 21 July 2022.
21. O'Connell, Cian (4 October 2020). "Galway SFC Final: Conneely inspires Maigh Cuilinn to first title".

Preceded by Shane Walsh

Galway Senior Football Captain 2022–present

Incumbent