Seamus Kelly (born 6 May 1974) is an Irish former

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

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. His brother Pádraic played as a keeper for

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

for many years. Seamus also played as a goalkeeper for

minor team in 1992.

Career

Seamus signed for UCD in the summer of 1993, making his League of Ireland debut on 19 September, from hometown club Tullamore Town and established himself as one of the league's best keepers before joining

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

in 1998 as cover for

Jon Hallworth Jonathan Geoffrey Hallworth (born 26 October 1965) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Hallworth began his career as a trainee at Ipswich Town before signing a professional contract. During his ...

. Kelly began his Cardiff career on the bench but was called upon at the end of the 1998–99 season when Hallworth broke two ribs in a match against Leyton Orient. He played in the final five matches of the season, making his debut in a 1–0 win over Southend United, helping the club clinch promotion to

Division Two NCL Division Two The NCL or National Conference League Division Two (known as the Kingstone Press NCL Division Two) League winners {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - , colspan=4 style="text-align:center;" , NCL DIVISION TWO , ...

. The following season saw the same scenario at the opposite end of the table as Kelly played in the final six matches of the year but was unable to help the club to avoid relegation, and was released at the end of the season. Kelly returned to Dublin to sign for

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

. After 3 seasons in Inchicore, Stephen Kenny took him to

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

where he challenged for the #1 spot with Matt Gregg. Kelly was first choice during Bohemians'

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

campaign in 2003 but never made the goalkeeping spot his own during his time at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

. Kelly joined Longford Town from Bohs in 2005 and played a crucial role in the club's

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

run in 2007 and also their gallant battle against relegation that same season. Following a mass exodus of players at the end of that season, Kelly remained on as one of only three players for the 2008 season (the others being

Daire Doyle Daire Doyle (born 18 October 1980 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish former football player and current assistant manager of Drogheda United. Early career Doyle started his professional career in August 1998 when he moved from top Dublin schoolbo ...

and Alan O'Riordan) as then manager Aaron Callaghan attempted to assemble a squad almost from scratch. Due to persistent back problems, Kelly retired during the summer of 2008. In 2010, he became Goalkeeping coach with Sheloburne.

Honours

;UCD * Leinster Senior Cup (2): 1994–95, 1995–96

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Seamus 1974 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers League of Ireland players University College Dublin A.F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Bohemian F.C. players Longford Town F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football goalkeepers Gaelic footballers who switched code Offaly inter-county Gaelic footballers Sportspeople from Tullamore, County Offaly Association footballers from County Offaly