John Kelly (1948 – 8 September 2023) was an Irish hurler. At club level he played with

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

Cappawhite Cappawhite, also Cappaghwhite (), is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland and is located on the R505 regional road from Cashel to County Limerick. Close major towns near the village include Tipperary Town which is 12 kilometres south of the v ...

and Kilruane MacDonaghs, and also lined out at inter-county level with various

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

teams.

Playing career

Kelly first played

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

at juvenile and underage levels with the

club. After winning back-to-back under-15 juvenile titles, he was part of the club's minor team that claimed their first Tipperary MAHC title in 1965. As a student, Kelly later lined out with

and won a Cork SHC medal in 1970 after a defeat of

Muskerry Muskerry ( ga, Múscraí) is a central region of County Cork, Ireland which incorporates the baronies of Muskerry West Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

during an unsuccessful three-year tenure with the minor team. He was a panel member in 1964 before making the starting team in 1965 and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

ing the team in 1966. Kelly was in his final year with the minor team when he was drafted onto the Tipperary under-21 team. His four years in that grade yielded an All-Ireland U21HC title in 1967. He

ed the team in his final year with the team in 1969. By that stage, Kelly had already lined out with the senior team, having made his debut during the

Oireachtas Tournament The Oireachtas Cup was an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association between 1939 and 1999 for the top inter-county teams in Ireland. The series of games were usually played in the autumn months after the completion ...

in 1967. He was part of the team during the successful 1967–68 National League-winning campaign but was dropped for the subsequent championship. Kelly earned a recall at the end of 1968 and immediately became first-choice full-back. He lined out in that position when Tipperary beat

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

to win the All-Ireland SHC title in 1971. Kelly also won a

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) 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 ...

medal with

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

in 1970. He switched club allegiance by joining Kilruane MacDonaghs in 1972, however, he returned to the Cappawhite club after two unsuccessful seasons. Kelly ended his club career by winning a West Tipperary JAHC title in 1982.

Coaching career

Kelly was still a player when he became involved in team management and club administration. He was a

selector Selector may refer to: *Selector, electrical or mechanical component, a switch *''Selector'', music scheduling software for radio stations created by Radio Computing Services *Selector, of music, otherwise known as a disc jockey *Selector, a pers ...

with the Tipperary minor team in 1979, while he also spent two different periods as a selector with the senior team. Kelly was chairman of the Cappawhite club from 1981 to 1984, served as a senior team selector and was later named Life President of the club.

Personal life and death

Kelly worked as a secondary school teacher. He was principal of Cappawhite Vocational School and, following its closure, he ran a Youthreach programme before retiring in 2013. Kelly was diagnosed with a

brain tumour A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondary ...

in 2015. Kelly died on 8 September 2023, at the age of 75.

Honours

;Cappawhite *West Tipperary Junior A Hurling Championship: 1982 *Tipperary Minor A Hurling Championship: 1965 *West Tipperary Minor A Hurling Championship: 1965, 1966 ;University College Cork *

Fitzgibbon Cup The Fitzgibbon Cup ( ga, Corn Mhic Giobúin) is the trophy for the premier hurling championship among higher education institutions (universities, colleges and institutes of technology) in Ireland. The Fitzgibbon Cup competition is administered ...

: 1971 *

Cork Senior Hurling Championship The Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PSHC) is an annual club hurling competition organised by the Cork County B ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

;Tipperary *

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

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

Munster Senior Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the h ...

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 ...

: 1967–68 *

: 1968, 1970, 1972 *

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (G ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Munster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-co ...

;Munster *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, John 1948 births 2023 deaths Cappawhite hurlers UCC hurlers Kilruane MacDonaghs hurlers Tipperary inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners