Patrick Kelly (born 30 September 1986) is an Irish hurler who plays as a goalkeeper for club side Inagh-Kilnamona and is a former member of the Clare senior hurling team. Kelly attended

NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

Playing career

St. Flannan's College

Kelly first enjoyed major success playing with the St. Flannan's College team. In 2005 he was in goal as St. Flannan's faced Thurles CBS in the provincial decider, and made a great save to deny Brian Moran and an almost certain Thurles comeback. A 1-11 to 1-6 victory gave Kelly a Harty Cup medal. The subsequent All-Ireland decider saw St. Flannan's face St. Kieran's College. Kelly was singled out for particular praise in the 2-15 to 2-12 victory, giving him an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

medal.

Inagh-Kilnamona

Kelly plays his club hurling with Inagh-Kilnamona. In 2007 he won a championship medal in the under-21 grade.

Clare

Under-21

Kelly was overlooked by the selectors for the Clare minor team, however, he was added to the Clare under-21 team in his final year of being eligible for the grade. On 17 July 2007, he made his debut in a 2-14 to 1-11 Munster semi-final defeat by Cork.

Senior

Kelly was added to the Clare senior panel by new manager Mike McNamara in 2008. He was an unused substitute throughout the entire

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

and subsequent championship campaigns. On 29 March 2009, Kelly made his competitive debut in a 3-16 to 1-09 National League defeat by

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

at Cusack Park. Over the next two seasons Kelly was an unused substitute, however, in 2012 he became first-choice goalkeeper. On 7 April 2012, he claimed his first silverware at senior level when Clare defeated

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

by 0-21 to 1-16 to secure the National League Division 1B title. Kelly subsequently made his Munster Championship debut on 17 June 2012 in a 1-18 to 2-17 defeat by

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. On 10 February 2013, Kelly won a

Waterford Crystal Cup The Waterford Crystal Cup was an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 2006 to 2015 for the top inter-county teams and third-level institutes and universities in the province of Munste ...

title after a 1-21 to 1-13 defeat of Tipperary in the final at

Semple Stadium FBD Semple Stadium is the home of hurling and Gaelic football for Tipperary GAA and for the province of Munster. Located in Thurles, County Tipperary, it is the second largest GAA stadium in Ireland (after Croke Park), with a capacity of 45,690 ...

. On 8 September 2013, he lined out in goal in the All-Ireland final against Cork having earlier lost the Munster semi-final to the same opposition. Kelly made a number of key saves which denied Daniel Kearney and Anthony Nash goals from frees and the game ended in a 0-25 to 3-16 draw after a last-second point from corner-back Domhnall O'Donovan. The replay on 28 September 2013 also saw Kelly concede three goals, however, a hat-trick by Clare's Shane O'Donnell and further goals from Conor McGrath and Darach Honan secured a 5–16 to 3–16 victory for Clare and an

medal for Kelly. He ended the season by being nominated for an All-Star award. Kelly fell out of favour with the Clare selectors and was dropped as first-choice goalkeeper in favour of Donal Tuohy for the 2014 season. Over the next few seasons, Kelly and Tuohy alternated the goalkeeping position. On 14 December 2018, Kelly announced his retirement from inter-county hurling.

Munster

In 2013 Kelly was sub goalkeeper to Anthony Nash on the

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

inter-provincial team. It was a successful campaign, as he claimed his first winners' medal following a 1-22 to 0-15 defeat of

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

Career statistics

Inter-county

Honours

Team

;St. Flannan's College * All-Ireland Colleges' Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2005 * Munster Colleges' Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2005 ;Inagh-Kilnamona *Clare Under-21 Hurling Championship (1): 2007 ;Clare *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

(1):

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

(1):

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

* National Hurling League Division 1B (1):

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

(1):

;Munster *

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

(1): 2012 (sub)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Patrick 1986 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Inagh-Kilnamona hurlers Clare inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers Hurling goalkeepers 21st-century Irish sportsmen