Tadhg Kennelly (born 1 July 1981) is an Irish-Australian former international sportsperson turned recruiter and coach. He is most known for his top-level careers in both

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

and Australian rules football being the only holder of both an

AFL Premiership medallion The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. From its inception until 1989, it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league at that time was the Victori ...

and a Senior All-Ireland Championship medal, the highest-possible team-based achievement in both sports. He has also represented

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in the

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team ...

. Kennelly grew up playing Gaelic football with Listowel Emmets in Kerry, but he moved to Australia to play professional Australian rules football in the Australian Football League. He is best known in Australia as the first Irish-born player to have received an AFL Premiership medallion and the first AFL player to represent Ireland against Australia in the International Rules Series. After Jim Stynes, he is the third-most-experienced player associated with the Irish experiment. Kennelly returned to his native Listowel to play in the

2009 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2009 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the inter-county Gaelic football tournament played between 31 counties of Ireland, London and New York. The draw for the 2009 championship took place on 9 October 2008. The tournament began on ...

(SFC). On 20 September 2009, he started the All-Ireland SFC Final as part of Kerry's All-Ireland winning side, scoring two points during the game and thus becoming the first person to win an AFL Premiership and an All-Ireland SFC. After achieving his dream, he returned to the AFL to play for Sydney after missing one season.

Early life

Kennelly was born in

Listowel Listowel ( ; , IPA: �lʲɪsˠˈt̪ˠuəhəlʲ is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,820 according to the CSO Census 2016. Desc ...

in 1981 to mother Nuala and father Tim Kennelly, a former

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

winner with the Kerry county team. Tadhg grew up playing Gaelic football and was recognised as a highly talented underage player in

Kerry GAA The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), or Kerry GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry, and for the Kerry county teams. The Kerry branch of the G ...

. He was scouted by a number of English soccer teams, including Tranmere Rovers and West Brom, and had underage trials for the Irish national team before being recruited by

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

. Within a few months, he decided to return to Ireland.

Sporting career

Underage Gaelic football career

He first played with the Kerry minor team in 1997 when he won a Munster Minor Football Championship (MFC), overcoming

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. He was underage again in 1998 and won a second Munster MFC title after another win over Limerick. He missed out on three in a row in 1999, as Cork took the title. While still a minor, he was part of the county's under-21 team. He won a

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

title after overcoming Cork in the final. A surprise loss in the

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship The GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association ...

final to

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 ...

was his lot. He made a return to the under-21 team in 2002, lining out in the All-Ireland semi-final loss to

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 ...

AFL career, 2001–2008

In 1999, he signed a rookie contract with the Sydney Swans. After his debut in 2001 (following elevation from the rookie list), he became a permanent fixture in the Sydney line-up as a dashing rebound defender, wearing the number 17 guernsey. Kennelly earned an AFL Rising Star nomination in Round 19 of 2002, consolidating his reputation as an upcoming young talent. He was second (behind Leo Barry) for rebounds (77) from the defensive

50-metre arc An Australian rules football playing field is a venue where Australian rules football is played. The playing field is typically a large oval-shaped grass surface, usually a modified cricket field. These fields may vary especially for varia ...

in 2004. Kennelly became the first Irishman to win an

AFL Premiership This page is a complete chronological listing of VFL/AFL premiers. The Australian Football League (AFL), known as the Victorian Football League (VFL) until 1990, is the elite national competition in men's Australian rules football. The inaug ...

medal in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

, after playing all 26 games for the Sydney Swans that year, including his 100th AFL game in the Preliminary Final against . He was reportedly earning an annual salary of $750,000 (350,000 Euro) while playing for the Sydney Swans. The hype in Australia surrounding Kennelly's appearance in the

AFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. From its inception until 1989, it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league at that time was the Victo ...

was so much that

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

sent out its usual game-day

boundary rider Boundary rider is a long-established (1864) Australasian term for a cattle or sheep station employee whose duties entail a regular tour (by horse, camel or motor vehicle) of the outer perimeter (boundary) of the property, checking condition of f ...

Andrew Maher Andrew Maher is an Australian sports journalist and broadcaster for the Seven Network and Melbourne sport radio station 1116 SEN. He is best known for covering both Australian rules football and the Big Bash League for the Ten television netw ...

, over to

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the cou ...

to visit Tadhg's family for the week and watch the Grand Final with them. Kennelly also appeared in the 2006 Grand Final, but the Swans lost 85–84 to the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Footbal ...

. In 2007 and 2008, after several seasons missing only a handful of games, Kennelly suffered a series of serious leg and shoulder injuries which became major setbacks to his AFL career. His knee buckled from a heavy tackle from the

Melbourne Demons The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria, and plays its home ga ...

' Byron Pickett, causing an

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

tear and seeing him miss several matches, including later matches due to complications. In 2008, he again injured his knee, dislocating his

knee cap The patella, also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in many tetrapods, such as m ...

and injuring his shoulder. He was selected in the

Dream Team Dream Team may refer to: Sport Basketball * Dream Team, the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in Barcelona * Dream Team II, the 1994 U.S. men's national basketball team at the FIBA World Championship * Dream Team III, the 1996 ...

for the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match, but he later withdrew due to injury. He was quick to recover, however, and made an appearance for the Swans the following week, though again succumbed to the injury curse. During the rest of 2008, Kennelly's shoulder continually dislocated during games, and his unorthodox methods of popping it back in was the subject of much media interest. On several occasions during his AFL career, Kennelly had expressed a desire to return home to Ireland and leave the AFL, as he wanted to emulate the success of his father and win an

medal with his native county's team, Kerry.Kerry GAA – Tadhg Kennelly to Return to Kerry Football
/ref> In December 2005, Kennelly's father Tim died suddenly at age 51. It is believed his father's death may have some bearing on Kennelly's wish to return to Ireland. On 31 August 2006, Kennelly ended months of speculation by announcing he would be staying on with the Swans for a further three years. Kennelly said that this would be his last AFL contract and that he would be returning to Ireland at the end of the three-year contract. In March 2008, Kennelly was reported to have announced that he would "definitely" return to Ireland in 2009 to play with Kerry, saying "I want to win an All-Ireland with Kerry." Kennelly announced his return to Ireland and Gaelic football in January 2009.

Gaelic football career 2009

Upon returning to Kerry, Kennelly was given a job as a coaching officer by the Kerry County Board. He played his first senior competitive game for the Kerry county team on 8 March 2009 when he came on as a substitute in the Irish NFL against

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. Th ...

, and there was speculation that he would be a member of the Kerry squad for the

. He went on to win an Irish NFL medal when Kerry defeated

in the final at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and h ...

. As Kerry had a number of injuries—meaning that Darragh Ó Sé, Anthony Maher,

Séamus Scanlon Séamus 'Moosey' Scanlon (''Irish - Séamas Ó Scanláin'', born 1981) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for the Currow Currow () is a rural village in County Kerry in south west Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located approximately 12& ...

and Kieran Donaghy were all short of full fitness—Kennelly played in Kerry's first two games of the

(SFC) in June. He picked up an injury during the All-Ireland qualifier series, but his form continued to improve, and after an impressive appearance as a substitute in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against

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 ...

, he broke into the starting team for the semi-final in which Kerry defeated

Meath Meath may refer to: General * County Meath, Republic of Ireland **Kingdom of Meath, medieval precursor of the county ** List of kings of Meath ** Meath GAA, including the intercounty football and hurling teams ** Diocese of Meath, in the Roman Cath ...

. On 20 September 2009, he played the first fifty minutes of the All-Ireland SFC final win against Cork, scoring two points and becoming the first person to win an AFL premiership and an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. After the final, Kennelly committed himself to the Kerry football team for the 2010 season, despite speculation that he would return to Australia. In October 2009, he published his autobiography, ''Unfinished Business'', ghost written with Scotty Gullen. The book was controversial; a paragraph claimed that he set out to make his mark at the start of the All-Ireland SFC Final by deliberately colliding with

Nicholas Murphy Nicholas Murphy (born 23 April 1978 in Carrigaline, County Cork) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays Gaelic football with his local club Carrigaline and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team between 1998 and 2012. Playing career ...

. After a backlash, Kennelly released a statement in which he stated that his ghost writer had taken him out of context. In November 2009, Kennelly informed the Kerry County Board of his intention to return to the AFL in 2010.

AFL career, 2009–2010

On 12 November 2009, Kennelly signed a two-year deal with the Sydney Swans, marking his return to the AFL. In addition to his playing role, he took up a coaching role at the club. He was very consistent throughout the year, playing in his customary role off half-back. He was chosen in the Irish squad for the International Series in October. Kennelly played his final AFL game in 's semi-final defeat at the hands of on 16 September 2011; he played 197 AFL games.

Statistics

: , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 41 , , 8 , , 3 , , 1 , , 36 , , 13 , , 49 , , 11 , , 5 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 4.5 , , 1.6 , , 6.1 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 20 , , 7 , , 3 , , 127 , , 100 , , 227 , , 46 , , 26 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 6.4 , , 5.0 , , 11.4 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 24 , , 8 , , 2 , , 206 , , 164 , , 370 , , 85 , , 38 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 8.6 , , 6.8 , , 15.4 , , 3.5 , , 1.6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 60 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 23 , , 7 , , 2 , , 192 , , 153 , , 345 , , 83 , , 37 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 8.3 , , 6.7 , , 15.0 , , 3.6 , , 1.6 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 26 , , 2 , , 5 , , 250 , , 146 , , 396 , , 99 , , 50 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 9.6 , , 5.6 , , 15.2 , , 3.8 , , 1.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2006 , style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 22 , , 1 , , 2 , , 211 , , 149 , , 360 , , 88 , , 42 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 9.6 , , 6.8 , , 16.4 , , 4.0 , , 1.9 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 13 , , 1 , , 0 , , 129 , , 89 , , 218 , , 67 , , 25 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 9.9 , , 6.8 , , 16.8 , , 5.2 , , 1.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 22 , , 0 , , 4 , , 235 , , 175 , , 410 , , 78 , , 36 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 10.7 , , 8.0 , , 18.6 , , 3.5 , , 1.6 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 20 , , 0 , , 1 , , 261 , , 152 , , 413 , , 99 , , 19 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 13.1 , , 7.6 , , 20.7 , , 5.0 , , 1.0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2011 , style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 19 , , 1 , , 1 , , 170 , , 125 , , 295 , , 46 , , 49 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 8.9 , , 6.6 , , 15.5 , , 2.4 , , 2.6 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 197 ! 30 ! 21 ! 1817 ! 1266 ! 3083 ! 702 ! 327 ! 0.2 ! 0.1 ! 9.2 ! 6.4 ! 15.6 ! 3.6 ! 1.7

Post AFL

Post AFL Kennelly shifted into AFL recruitment and coaching. In 2013, he was appointed by the Australian Football League as its International Talent Manager. As part of this role he oversaw the International AFL Combine and coordinated the first AFL Europe Combine held in

in 2015. In 2018, he returned to the Sydney Swans becoming a development coach. In October 2022 Kennelley was appointed Academy coach of the Swans cross town rivals

Greater Western Sydney Giants The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents th ...

.Swans Great Joins the GIANTS
By GIANTS Media 5 October 2022

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennelly, Tadhg 1981 births Living people All Stars Awards winners (football) Gaelic footballers who switched code Irish international rules football players Irish players of Australian rules football Irish emigrants to Australia Tadhg Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers Listowel Emmets Gaelic footballers One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players People from Listowel Sydney Swans players Sydney Swans Premiership players VFL/AFL players born outside Australia Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)