Niamh Kelly (born 30 August 1995) is a gaelic football player who plays for Mayo and an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who plays for

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

in the

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football competition for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the l ...

(AFLW). She has previously played for West Coast. She is the sister of St Kilda player

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...

AFL Women's career

In June 2019, Kelly joined West Coast as an international rookie, together with her sister Grace. Making her debut in round 1, 2020 against , Kelly was a part of West Coast's inaugural AFL Women's team. In June 2022, both Kelly sisters left the Eagles; Niamh was traded to

, while Grace departed for . Kelly had a career-best year in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. After winning the second-ever

Showdown Medal The Showdown Medal is the medal awarded to the player adjudged best on ground in the Showdown (AFL), Showdown Australian Football League, AFL match between Adelaide Football Club, Adelaide and Port Adelaide Football Club, Port Adelaide. It is t ...

awarded in the AFLW in round one of the season, Kelly recorded a personal-best 28 disposals and 99 AFL Fantasy points in round 8 against

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. The following week, Kelly scored a match-winning goal against an in-form

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

to secure her team a top-two finish and a home qualifying final. Kelly was rewarded for her outstanding form in 2023 with selection in the All Australian squad.

Personal life

Kelly is the sister of

player

. The pair grew up in

Bohola Bohola () is a village in County Mayo, Ireland located along the N5 national primary road. It is in the barony of Gallen and gives its name to the civil parish of Bohola. The village's amenities include two pubs, a post office, a cafe and a Ca ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

References

External links

* * Living people 1995 births Mayo inter-county ladies' Gaelic footballers West Coast Eagles (AFLW) players Irish female players of Australian rules football Ladies' Gaelic footballers who switched code Irish expatriate sportspeople in Australia 21st-century Irish sportswomen {{AFL-bio-1990s-stub