Alan Keely


Alan Vincent Keely is an Irish former footballer.

Early life and education

Keely was born on 10 May 1982 in Dublin, Ireland. The son of former League of Ireland player and manager, Dermot Keely, he attended St. Joseph's C.B.S. and was named as an All-Ireland schoolboy defender.
Keely attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and was a student-athlete on scholarship with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team. In 2002, his only season with the team, he appeared in 22 games and scored 1 goal with 2 assists. The Gauchos appeared in the 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, which was the first time the school had participated in the tournament. He was named as the 2002 Big West Conference's Freshman of the Year and was placed on the All-Conference First Team.

Senior career

Prior to attending UCSB, Keely began his senior career with Shelbourne F.C. in 2001 who were under the management of his father, Dermot. He made one senior appearance for Shelbourne in 2001/02 season during a League of Ireland Cup match against Shamrock Rovers on 29 October 2001.
Keely left Santa Barbara after his first season, opting to return to Ireland. It was announced in January 2003 that he signed with Kildare County F.C. for the 2003 League of Ireland season. He suffered a serious groin injury mid-season and finished the season with 15 appearances for the club.
Ahead of the 2004 League of Ireland season, Keely joined Dublin City F.C. as a free agent. Unable to crack the first team squad, he was transfer listed, then released, by manager Roddy Collins. Despite interest from Dundalk F.C. manager Jim Gannon, Keely joined signed with Finn Harps F.C. shortly after. He featured for Finn Harps to close out the season.
With his father Dermot named manager at Dublin City, Keely rejoined the Vikings in November 2004 for the forthcoming 2005 League of Ireland season. He remained with Dublin through July 2006 when, 17 league games into the season, the club stopped trading and ceased to exist as a football team.
Waterford United F.C. took advantage of Dublin's demise, signing Keely and two of his Dublin teammates in August 2006. In December 2006, he re-signed for another year with the club for the 2007 League of Ireland.
In July 2007, Keely re-joined Shelbourne F.C.. He departed the club at the end of the 2009 season. In his 3 seasons at Shelbourne, Keely made 61 League and Cup appearance scoring one goal. Keely joined Leinster Senior League side Malahide United F.C. for the 2010 season.

Honours