Alan Vincent Keely (10 May 1982 – 3 May 2021) was an Irish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a defender for several

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

teams between 2001 and 2009, including

Shelbourne F.C. Shelbourne Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Shíol Bhroin) is an Irish association football club based in Drumcondra, Dublin, who play in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Shelbourne were founded in Dublin in 1895. In 1904 the club join ...

, Finn Harps F.C. and

Waterford United F.C. Waterford Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Phort Láirge) formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland First Division. The club was founded and elected to the ...

He was a member of the Finn Harps' squad that won the

2004 League of Ireland First Division The 2004 League of Ireland First Division season was the 20th season of the League of Ireland First Division. Overview The First Division was contested by 12 teams and Finn Harps won the division. Each team played the other teams three times, tota ...

Early life and education

Keely was born on 10 May 1982 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland. The son of former

player and manager,

Dermot Keely Dermot Keely (born 8 March 1954) is an Irish former manager and player. He was a schoolteacher by profession. Family Keely's family have played League of Ireland football at various levels. His late father Peter Keely played for Shelbourne., hi ...

, he attended St. Joseph's CBS and was named as an All-Ireland schoolboy defender. Keely attended the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

(UCSB) and was a student-athlete on scholarship with the

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of student-athletes attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gauchos play their home matches at Harder Stadium. Like most of the ...

team. In 2002, his only season with the team, he appeared in 22 games and scored 1 goal with 2 assists. The Gauchos appeared in the 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, which was the first time the school had participated in the tournament. He was named as the 2002

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

's Freshman of the Year and was placed on the All-Conference First Team.

Senior career

Prior to attending UCSB, Keely began his senior career with

in 2001 who were then under the management of his father, Dermot. He made one senior appearance for Shelbourne in 2001–02 season during a

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

match against

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

on 29 October 2001. Keely left Santa Barbara after his first season, opting to return to Ireland. It was announced in January 2003 that he signed with

Kildare County F.C. Kildare County F.C. ( ga, Cumann Peile Chontae Chill Dara) was an Irish association football club based in Newbridge, County Kildare. Between 2002–03 and 2009 they played in the League of Ireland First Division. During this time they also e ...

for the 2003 League of Ireland season. He suffered a serious groin injury mid-season and finished the season with 15 appearances for the club. Ahead of the 2004 League of Ireland season, Keely joined

Dublin City F.C. Dublin City Football Club was a former Irish association football club based in Northside, Dublin. The club played in the League of Ireland. They were formed in 1999 after a split within Home Farm Everton and they originally played as Home Far ...

as a free agent. Unable to crack the first team squad, he was transfer listed, then released, by manager

Roddy Collins Roderick Collins (born 7 August 1962), is an Irish former professional football player and manager. During a playing career of 18 years, Collins played for many sides across England, Ireland and Northern Ireland. While towards the end of his ...

. Despite interest from

Dundalk F.C. Dundalk Football Club ( ; ga, Cumann Peile Dhún Dealgan) is a professional association football club that competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of football in the Republic of Ireland. The club is based in Dundalk ...

manager

Jim Gannon James Paul Gannon (born 7 September 1968) is a professional football manager and former player who most recently was manager of Hyde United. He started and finished his career as a player in Ireland, but made most of his professional appearan ...

, Keely signed with Finn Harps F.C. shortly after. He featured for Finn Harps to close out the season. With his father Dermot named manager at Dublin City, Keely rejoined the club in November 2004 for the forthcoming

2005 League of Ireland The 2005 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 21st season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 12 teams. Cork City F.C., Cork City were champions while Derry City F.C., Derry City finished as runners-up. T ...

season. He remained with Dublin City through July 2006 when, 17 league games into the season, the club stopped trading and ceased to exist as a football team. After the club's demise,

signed Keely and two of his Dublin City teammates in August 2006. In December 2006, he re-signed for another year with Waterford for the

2007 League of Ireland The 2007 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 23rd season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 12 teams. Drogheda United were champions for the first time while St Patrick's Athletic finished as runners-up ...

. In July 2007, Keely re-joined

He departed the club at the end of the 2009 season. In his three seasons at Shelbourne, Keely made 61 league and cup appearances, and scored one goal.

Later career and death

After his League of Ireland career ended, Keely joined Leinster Senior League side

Malahide United F.C. Malahide United F.C. are a football club from Malahide, Fingal county in Ireland. The club plays at Gannon Park. Malahide compete in the Leinster Senior League. History The club was established in 1944. However, it disbanded for a period befo ...

for the 2010 season. Keely died in May 2021 at the age of 38.

Honours

Finn Harps *

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

References

External links

Shelbourne F.C. player profile
(archived)
Dublin City F.C. player profile
(archived)
ExtraTime.ie player profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keely, Alan 2021 deaths 1982 births Association footballers from County Dublin League of Ireland players UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer players Shelbourne F.C. players Waterford F.C. players Dublin City F.C. players Finn Harps F.C. players Kildare County F.C. players Leinster Senior League (association football) players Association football defenders Republic of Ireland association footballers Malahide United F.C. players People educated at St. Joseph's CBS, Fairview