[caption id="attachment_70174" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="John Kelly."]
The Gaelic Athletic Association of Greater New York will hold its annual banquet at Antun’s, 96-43 Springfield Boulevard, Queens Village, on Saturday March 31st. The cocktail hour will be from 8:00 to 9:00 pm followed by dancing to Tommy Flynn and the New York Showband. The Guest of Honor for the GAA’s flagship social event is John Kelly. John is a native of Aughrim, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. He attended the local national school where he began a long career in Gaelic sports, honing his skills to become a fine dual player.
Having finished in the juvenile ranks, young Kelly progressed to don the colors of his club Clontusker at minor and junior level. Once his schooling was finished, John followed the family tradition and became deeply involved in farming. However, despite predictions of imminent prosperity for the farmers once Ireland joined the EEC, Kelly’s sights were set on sampling life on the other side of the Atlantic. The love of the land was soon replaced by the lure of the Big Apple as the curious Galway lad arrived here over four decades ago. Since then John Kelly has been a central figure as a player, manager, selector and benefactor in the New York GAA.
From his arrival in 1970 Kelly was a regular on the Galway hurling and football teams for a decade and a half. These were some of the most successful years of the club. In 1974 Galway won the junior hurling championship with Kilkenny legends Noel Skehan and Chunky O’Brien being Kelly’s team mates.
Success soon followed at the senior level as Galway became a power house in the late seventies and early eighties. Galway were tops in 1977 as they beat Kilkenny in the final. Galway and Kelly were on a roll in the eighties, as they won championships in ’82 ’83 and ’84, all at Tipperary’s expense. During these halcyon days Kelly had the satisfaction of playing with some of the greats of that era among them were Sylvie Linanne, Pearse Piggott, Steve Mahon, Brendan Lynsky, P J Molloy and Finbar Gantly. However the bubble burst in ’85 as they were on target for four in a row. Incidentally it was a Tipperary team led by Monty Moloney, a Galway man, that knocked the Tribesmen off their perch. Though hurling was his number one passion, Kelly featured regularly with the football team until it disbanded in the mid- seventies.
Once his playing days were finished, Kelly became deeply involved in the affairs of the club, holding the full array of positions at one time or another. However he found his true niche in team management. Kelly took the reins of the junior team in 1989 and held that position until 2003. Along the way he led Galway to championships in 1999 and 2003.
When Galway returned to senior ranks, Kelly was the natural choice to lead the squad and he has continued in that role since then. Though the club has not reached the epic heights of the eighties, Kelly’s dogged determination did manage to get them to the final this year. However Offaly’s quest for five in a row was too much of a task for Galway to contend with. Besides his duties to the Galway club, John Kelly has held several positions with the New York Board. He has been chairman of the Senior Hurling division as well as being a selector with New York teams. In addition Kelly has been very active in the Galway Association through the years.
When John Kelly first arrived in the States he was employed in the construction industry. Later he joined the Teamsters Union and worked for White Rock Corporation, Congress Trucking and Patent Constructions Systems.
John has one son John Jr. and it was inevitable that he would be imbued with his father’s love of Gaelic games, and in particular hurling. John Jr. played under-age football with the Rangers, winning several New York Minor Board medals in the process. He has also held numerous positions with the Galway Hurling club. Presently he is the secretary of the Senior Hurling division. The Kellys reside in the Hartsdale section of Westchester.
At this stage preparations are in full swing for the dinner dance. Once again Tom Fahey, New York’s longest serving referee is at the helm as banquet chairman. Incidentally Tom is being honored along with his brothers Denny and John this weekend by the Waterford Association for their promotion of Gaelic games with numerous clubs over several decades. The Secretary of the New York GAA, Mary Murphy is in the Journal Chairperson. So perhaps if you wish to secure a place at the banquet table call Tom Fahey at 914-384-3043 or to place an ad. in the journal, call Mary Murphy at 914-439-5124. John Kelly has been a stalwart in the promotion of hurling for more than four decades through thick and thin. It is people like him who help keep the game alive in the Big Apple. March 31st will be your opportunity to show your appreciation for such unflinching devotion to Gaelic games. The honor is thoroughly deserved.
St. Kevin’s v New York
On Friday evening at seven o clock the St. Kevin’s hurling team from Dublin will take on the Big Apple hurlers in a challenge match. Eugene Kyne and Eddie Gowran will be in charge of the New York squad. They will be calling on the services of players such as Paul Loughnane, Dave Loughnane, Brian McNaughton, Aaron Farrell, Liam Butler, Robbie Jackson, John Madden, Gary Donoghue, Kevin Meaney and perhaps Liam Cahill. In addition American born players such as Eddie Hogan, Paudie and Eoghan Kyne are also expected to take part in this match. At this stage no list of players was available from the Dublin squad but St Kevin’s were a relatively strong senior team in the eighties before regrading to junior. However they have returned to the senior ranks and New York will be grateful for the match as they have had little competition against Irish teams in recent times. This will also be an opportunity for the patrons to view the major makeover that the catering facilities have undergone since the New York GAA has assumed the lease on this part of the property.
