Joachim Kelly (born 2 December 1955) is an Irish hurling manager and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

. He is

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

of the Offaly senior hurling team. Kelly played for club side Lusmagh and was a member of the Offaly senior hurling team for 19 seasons, during which time he usually lined out at midfield. Kelly began his hurling career at club level with Lusmagh. He broke onto the club's top adult team as a 15-year-old in 1971 and enjoyed his first success in 1973 when the club won the Offaly Junior Championship. Kelly later won an Offaly Senior Championship medal in 1989 when Lusmagh won their first and only title. He ended his club career with the Lusmagh junior B in 2003. At inter-county level, Kelly began his career at minor level in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

before progressing onto the Offaly under-21 team. He joined the Offaly senior team in 1974. From his debut, Kelly lined out in a variety of positions, including midfield, half-forward, corner-forward and centre-back, and made a record 171 National League and Championship appearances in a career that ended with his last game in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

. During that time he was part of two All-Ireland Championship-winning teams – in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. Kelly also secured seven Leinster Championship medals and a National Hurling League medal. He announced his retirement from inter-county hurling on 15 September 1993. Kelly won his first All-Star in 1980, before claiming a further All-Star in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. At inter-provincial level, Kelly was selected to play in several championship campaigns with

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

, with his sole Railway Cup medal being won in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

. As a manager, selector, coach and trainer, Kelly has previously worked with club sides Lusmagh,

Loughmore-Castleiney Loughmore-Castleiney is an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. It is located in County Tipperary, Ireland. The area is made up of the villages of Loughmore and Castleiney and their hinterland. Loughmore ...

, Kilcormac-Killoughey,

Portumna Portumna ( - meaning 'the landing place of the oak') is a market town in the south-east of County Galway, Ireland, on the border with and linked by a bridge to County Tipperary. The town is located to the west of the point where the River Shann ...

, Shinrone and Coolderry, and inter-county teams

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

and

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

Playing career

Lusmagh

Kelly joined the Lusmagh club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. He was still eligible for the minor grade when he joined the club's top adult team during the 1971 Offaly Junior Championship. On 26 November 1973, Kelly was at wing-forward when Lusmagh faced Ballinamere in the final of the Offaly Junior Championship. He top-scored with 3-01 in the 6-03 to 3-05 victory. On 10 October 1982, lined out at centre-forward when Lusmagh faced St. Rynagh's in their very first Offaly Senior Championship final. He scored a point from play but ended on the losing side following a 2-09 to 0-11 defeat. When Lusmagh qualified for their next final on 22 October 1989, Kelly was switched from the forwards to midfield as well as being

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

. He remained scoreless throughout the game but collected a winners' medal following a 1-11 to 1-10 defeat of Seir Kieran. On 1 November 1992, Kelly lined out in a third and final Offaly Senior Championship final. He scored 0-02 but ended on the losing side following a 0-10 to 0-09 defeat by St. Rynagh's.

Offaly

Senior

Kelly joined the Offaly senior team prior to the start of the 1974-75 National League. He made his first appearance for the team when he lined out at left wing-forward in a 5-03 to 3-08 defeat of Antrim on 13 October 1974. Kelly made his first appearance in the Leinster Championship on 22 June when he was selected at right corner-forward for the 6-06 to 4-12 draw with

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...

. On 13 July 1980, Kelly lined out at midfield when Offaly faced Kilkenny in what was only their second Leinster final appearance in 50 years. He scored a point from play in the 3-17 to 5-10 victory in what was Offaly's first ever provincial title. Kelly ended the season by claiming a first All-Star award. On 12 July 1981, Kelly won a second successive Leinster Championship following Offaly's 3-12 to 2-13 defeat of

in the final. This victory gave Offaly a straight passage to the

All-Ireland final The All-Ireland Final may refer to: * All-Ireland Hurling Final, the last match to be played in the All-Ireland Hurling Championship (Senior, Minor and Under-21 levels) * The last match to be played in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship ...

against reigning champions

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

on 6 September. Kelly lined out at midfield and collected an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

winners' medal following the 2-12 to 0-15 victory. Kelly lined out in his by now customary position of midfield when Offaly qualified for a third successive Leinster final on 25 July 1982. Offaly suffered their first provincial defeat in three seasons following a 1-11 to 0-12 defeat by Kilkenny. On 10 July 1983, Kelly lined out at midfield in a fourth successive Leinster final. He scored a point from play in the 1-17 to 0-13 defeat by reigning champions Kilkenny. Offaly reached a sixth successive Leinster final on 8 July 1984, with Kelly once again lining out at midfield. He collected a third winners' medal following the 1-15 to 2-11 defeat of Wexford. Offaly subsequently qualified for an

-meeting with Cork at Semple Stadium on 2 September. Kelly was held scoreless from midfield in the 3-16 to 1-12 defeat. He ended the season with a second All-Star award. On 21 July 1985, Kelly lined out at midfield in his sixth successive Leinster final. He claimed a fourth winners' medal following the 5-15 to 0-17 defeat of

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...

. Kelly retained his position at midfield for the

against Galway on 1 September 1985. He remained scoreless throughout the game but collected a second All-Ireland medal following a 2-11 to 1-12 victory. Offaly qualified for an eighth successive Leinster final on 13 July 1986. Kelly was again at midfield, however, he ended up on the losing side following a 4-10 to 1-11 defeat by Kilkenny. For the ninth successive season, Offaly qualified for the Leinster final on 2 August 1987 with Kelly lining out at midfield. Kilkenny ended that game as champions following a 2-14 to 0-17 victory. Offaly continued their dominance of the Leinster Championship by qualifying for a tenth successive

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

on 10 July 1988. Kelly claimed a fifth winners' medal overall - his first in three seasons - following a 3-12 to 1-14 defeat of Wexford. On 9 July 1989, Kelly lined out in his 11th Leinster final. He scored a point from midfield and collected a sixth winners' medal following the 3-15 to 4-09 defeat of Kilkenny. For the 12th successive season, Offaly qualified for the Leinster final on 1 July 1990 with Kelly lining out at midfield. He scored a point from play and collected a seventh winners' medal following the 1-19 to 2-11 defeat of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. 1991 began well as Offaly captured their first National League title, however, Offaly surrendered their provincial crown to Kilkenny. Kelly played his final championship game for Offaly against Kilkenny in the Leinster semi-final of 1993.

Leinster

Kelly also lined out with

in the inter-provincial hurling competition. He won one Railway Cup title following a victory over

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...

in 1979.

Managerial career

Early career

Four years before his retirement from inter-county hurling Kelly had already ventured into hurling management. He broke his leg in 1990 which ruled him out of playing for some time. To stay involved in the game he took charge of the

senior hurling team. In his first year in charge Westmeath won promotion to Division 2 of the National League. In Kelly's second year in charge his team won the All-Ireland 'B' title in Croke Park. After his two-year stint with the Westmeath Kelly joined

Éamonn Cregan Éamonn Cregan (born 21 May 1945) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, hurler and manager. He is best remembered for his success with Limerick, as a player in the 1970s and then as manager of various club and inter-county teams in the 1980s a ...

's Offaly backroom team in 1995. He remained a selector for just over a year, having tendered his resignation after the Leinster final defeat to

in July 1996. At club level Kelly had a two-year spell as manager of

in Tipperary. In 1997 he devoted his time to the management of Kilcormac-Killoughey. In 1999, he managed the Wexford senior hurling team for one season, ending in a heavy championship defeat to Offaly. In 2008 Joachim was announced as manager of the Offaly Junior Camogie Team which is their main team. In his first year they reached the All-Ireland Junior Camogie Final. They lost to Clare after a late late goal by Shonagh Enright. However just one year later in 2009 they did in fact capture the All-Ireland Camogie title. He has been announced as the trainer for

senior hurling team for 2014, working with manager Justin Campbell, a former

hurler.

Coolderry

Kelly took over as manager of the Coolderry senior hurling team prior to the start of the 2018 Offaly Senior Championship. On 7 October, he guided the club to their 31st Offaly Senior Championship following a 2-17 to 0-17 defeat of Kilcormac/Killoughey in the final.

Offaly

Kelly was appointed interim manager of the Offaly senior hurling team on 20 May 2019, following Kevin Martin's removal from the position.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Joachim 1955 births Living people All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Garda Síochána officers Hurling managers Hurling selectors Leinster inter-provincial hurlers Lusmagh hurlers Offaly inter-county hurlers