Thomas "Tom" Francis Kiely (25 August 1869 – 6 November 1951) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

. Kiely won gold in the all-round at the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, making him the first multi-event track and field champion of the

Modern Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

Biography

Kiely was born in

Banteer Banteer () is a village in north County Cork, Ireland located in the Civic Parish of Clonmeen in the Barony of Duhallow. It is near the town of Mallow. Banteer is within the Cork North-West Dáil constituency. History In 1651, the Battle of Kn ...

in County Cork, Ireland. the son of William and Mary (nee Downey) Keily. He attended Ballyneale National School where he started to take part in

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 kic ...

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 ...

and athletics. He represented Tipperary at Hurling, playing for

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 ...

when they beat

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 Ir ...

in London. In addition, he was the captain of the Grangemockler Gaelic Football Team and on the same day as he represented Munster in the hurling match against Leinster he played Gaelic football for Ireland versus London-Irish at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

. In all, Kiely won 53 sporting titles and these were 38

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

titles and

Irish Amateur Athletic Association The Irish Amateur Athletic Association or IAAA was a governing body for athletic sports in Ireland between 1885 and 1923. The IAAA was formed as the Irish offshoot of the English Amateur Athletic Association in 1885. This was partially in reactio ...

titles. He also won five English

hammer throwing The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

titles and two

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

all round championships. Away from the sports field Kielt played the fiddle and the flute and was an accomplished

Irish dance Irish dance refers to a group of traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, encompassing dancing both solo and in groups, and dancing for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance in its current form developed from vario ...

r. Kiely competed in the

held in

, in the all-round, which consisted of 100 yd run, shot put, high jump, 880 yd walk, hammer throw, pole vault, 120 yd hurdles, 56 pounds weight throw, long jump and 1 mile run. All ten events were held on the same day. He won the gold medal, becoming the first multi-event track and field champion in the

. Kiely was thirty-four at this time. The British team had approached him with promises of his fare and expenses, and American sponsorship was also offered but, as a committed nationalist, he decided to go on his own, representing his native country. He raised the fare partly by selling many of the prizes he had won over the years and sailed to the US at the end of May. In America he had several more offers to join the American or British teams. But again he declined and made it clear in all statements to the press that he would represent only Ireland in the Olympic Games. As Ireland was not independent in 1904 the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

lists him as representative of the team of Great Britain and Ireland at the 1904 Summer Olympics. He died on 6 November 1951 at his home in Carrick-on-Suir and he was buried in the cemetery at Ballyneale. He is commemorated by a memorial at Ballyneale Church which was unveiled in 1970. In 2016 his gold medal was displayed at the Gaelic Athletic Association's Museum as part of the ''Irish Olympians'' exhibition.

References

External links

Ballyneale’s Tom Kiely: a legendary all-rounder

The Munster Express ''The Munster Express'' newspaper was established in 1860 in the South Eastern Irish city of Waterford. The newspaper covers stories from Waterford city and County Waterford. It retails at €2.00. ''The Munster Express''s office is located on ...

, 19 Feb 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiely, Tom 1869 births 1951 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics Irish decathletes Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Great Britain Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Sportspeople from County Tipperary