Eoin Kelly (Tipperary hurler)

Infobox GAA player
code= Hurling
sport = Hurling


name = Eoin Kelly
irish = Eoin Ó Ceallaigh
fullname = Eoin Kelly
placeofbirth = Mullinahone
countryofbirth = County Tipperary
bday=6
bmonth=1
byear= 1982
dyear=
dday=
dmonth=
height = 5'10"
nickname =
county = Tipperary
province = Munster
club = Mullinahone
clposition = Forward
clubs =
clyears =
clapps(points) =
clcounty =
clprovince=
clallireland =
counties = Tipperary
icposition = Right corner-forward
icyears = 2000-
icapps(points) = 36 (12-239)
icprovince = 2
icallireland = 1
nhl = 3
allstars = 5
clupdate =
icupdate =

Eoin Kelly (born 6 January, 1982 in Mullinahone, County Tipperary) is an Irish sportsman. He plays hurling with his local club Mullinahone and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team. Kelly usually plays in the right corner-forward position and is regarded as one of the best players in the current game. His tally of 12 goals and 239 points from 36 championship games mark him oit as Tipperary's top scorer of all-time.

Early & private life

Eoin Kelly was born in Mullinahone on the Tipperary-Kilkenny border in 1982. He was educated locally and later attended Scoil Ruain in Killenaule, a great producer of Tipperary hurlers over the years. Kelly later attended Kilkenny's famed hurling academy, St. Kieran's College, where he won an All-Ireland Colleges' medal in 2000. A measure of the success rate at St. Kieran’s is the fact that during Kelly’s tenure there he only ever lost one hurling game. Kelly later studied civil engineering at the Limerick Institute of Technology and graduated in 2006. He won a Fitzgibbon Cup medal as captain with the college team that was trained by Davy Fitzgerald in 2005. He is currently single.

Eoin's brother Paul also played senior hurling with Tipperary in the early 2000s.

Playing career

Club

Kelly plays with his club hurling with his native Mullinahone and has so far won a county championship medal with the club in 2002. On the occasion of the final he scored a credible 2 goals and 7 points and was subsequently presented with the Man of the Match title.

Inter-county

Due to his prowess at hurling Kelly was quickly selected for inter-county duty. Like the legendary hurler Jimmy Doyle, he made his minor debut for Tipperary as a goalkeeper at the age of 15. In a progressive move by the selectors Kelly was later moved from the number one position to a more natural place in the forward lines. He collected a Munster medal in 1997, however, Tipp were later defeated by Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Two years later in 1999 Kelly added a second Munster title to his collection, however, Galway proved too much for Tipp in the subsequent All-Ireland final. By this stage he had already made his debut for the Tipperary under-21 hurling team. He came on as a substitute to win a Munster medal in that grade in 1999, however, in a similar pattern, Tipp were defeated in the penultimate stage of the All-Ireland series. Four years later in 2003 Kelly was appointed captain of the Tipp under-21 team. He collected a second Munster medal in that grade on that occasion, however, for the fourth time at underage level Kelly’s side were defeated.

By this stage Kelly was already a regualr fixture on the Tipperary senior hurling team. He made his debut in the All-Ireland quarter-final in 2000 on a day whenhe doubled as sub-goalie and sub-forward. Tipp ahd already been defeated by Cork in the Munster final and were now embarking on the ‘back-door’ route to the All-Ireland final. Galway provided the opposition on that occasion, however, Tipp were defeated on a score line of 1-14 to 0-15. That game marked Kelly out as a star for the future and he has played a key role for Tipp since then. 2001 proved to be one of the best years for Kelly as a hurler. He was a key member of the team when Tipp won the National Hurling League title that year. It was Kelly’s first silverware at senior level. Later that summer Tipp qualified for the Munster final for the second year in-a-row. Clare provided the opposition on that occasion; however, Tipp emerged as the victors giving Kelly his first Munster title. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final saw Tipp face stiff opposition from Wexford. A 1-16 to 3-10 draw forced Kelly’s side to re-examine their game plan. The replay, however, turned out to be a resounding victory for Tipp. The All-Ireland final brought Tipp and Galway together in the championship decider for the first time since 1988. In a close and exciting game Tipp emerged victorious, giving Kelly a coveted All-Ireland medal. Tipperary had gone through both the league and championship without being defeated. Following the game Kelly was presented with his first All-Star award as well as being named Young Hurler of the Year.

In 2002 Tipperary reached their third consecutive Munster final, however, on this occasion they were both provincial and All-Ireland champions. Waterford were the opponents on that day and, in spite of history being against the Deise, they bridged a 39-year gap and clinched their first Munster title since 1963. Tipp, however, still had the chance to defend their All-Ireland title. They defeated Antrim in the All-Ireland quarter-final, however, Kelly’s side were defeate dby eventual champions Kilkenny in the penultimate stage of the championship. In spite of surrendering their status as champions, Kelly was presented with a second All-Star award. He also retained the Young Hurler of the Year title. Tipperary went into decline after this. The team exited the provincial championship at an early stage in 2003, however, they still reached the All-Ireland semi-final where they were trounced by Kilkenny. In 2004 Tipp crashed out of the Munster championshop at an early stage once again and were later defeated by Cork in the qualifiers. In spite of this Kelly collected a third All-Star award. In 2005 Tipp were back and reached the Munster final for the first time since 2002. Cork, the All-Ireland champions, provided the opposition on that occasion; however, it was the Leesiders that emerged victorious. Tipp were later eliminated from the championship by old rivals and subsequent All-Ireland finalists Galway. Once again Kelly was included on the All-Star team. In 2006 Babs Keating returned as manager of the team and Kelly emerged as one of the best and most prolific scorers in the modern game. He scored a remarkable 2-23 in Tipperary's two opening games against Limerick and Waterford. His tally of 2-9 in the second game equalled the total scored by the entire Waterford team and landed him a place on the top ten list of all-time scoring greats. Kelly has scored over 200 championship points, eclipsing the legendary Jimmy Doyle as Tipperary's top championship scorer of all-time. These early scoring exploits meant that Tipp qualified for the Munster final once again. Cork travelled to Semple Stadium as All-Ireland champions and, once again, they retained their title. Tipp were later knocked out of the championship in the All-Ireland quarter-final, however, Kelly went on to collect his fifth All-Star award in six seasons.

In 2007 Kelly endured a frustrating season. A draw in Tipp’s opening game with Limerick resulted in him being dropped from the starting fifteen along with long-time goalkeeper Brendan Cummins. Tipp later lost to Wexford in the All-Ireland quarter-final and Babs Keating was replaced by Liam Sheedy as manager for 2008. Kelly and Cummins were welcomed back onto the team with the former being named as vice-captain. Tipp began well by winning the Waterford Crystal League. The men from the Premier County later remained undefeated in the National League before meeting Galway in the final. In an exciting game Tipp emerged victorious and Kelly collected the cup as captain. In the subsequent Munster semi-final against Cork Kelly scored a crucial goal that gave Tipp a 1-19 to 1-13 victory. It was Tipp’s first championship victory over Cork in Cork since 1923. The victory also allowed tipp to advance to the Munster final.

Provincial

Kelly has also lined out with Munster in the inter-provincial Railway Cup competition. He first played for his province in 2001 as Munster defeated Connacht to take the title. Kelly was a regular in the Munster forward line in 2002, 2003 and 2004; however, his side were defeated on all three occasions. In 2005 elly collected his second Railway Cup medal as Munster defeated Leinster in the final. Munster were defeated in the first-round again in 2006, however, Kelly collected a third Railway Cup title in 2007. The final against Connacht was the first hurling game to be played under floodlights at Croke Park.

Teams

External links

* [http://tipperary.gaa.ie/seniorhurlingplayerprofiles.html/ Tipperary Player Profiles]