| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1954-03-08)8 March 1954 (age 71)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1975 | Home Farm | 42 | (7) |
| 1975–1978 | St. Patrick's Athletic | 71 | (6) |
| 1978–1981 | Dundalk | 81 | (0) |
| 1981–1983 | Glentoran | ||
| 1983 | UCD | 8 | (1) |
| 1983–1988 | Shamrock Rovers | 71 | (1) |
| 1988–1989 | Home Farm | ||
| 1989–1990 | Sligo Rovers | 20 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 1981–1984 | League of Ireland XI | 3 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1983 | UCD | ||
| 1986–1988 | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 1989–1992 | Sligo Rovers | ||
| 1992–1993 | Longford Town | ||
| 1993–1996 | Dundalk | ||
| 1996 | Finn Harps | ||
| 1996 | Athlone Town | ||
| 1996–1998 | Home Farm Everton | ||
| 1998–2002 | Shelbourne | ||
| 2000 | League of Ireland XI | ||
| 2002–2003 | Kildare County | ||
| 2003–2003 | Derry City | ||
| 2005–2006 | Dublin City | ||
| 2007–2010 | Shelbourne | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Dermot Keely (born 8 March 1954) is an Irish former manager and player. He was a schoolteacher by profession.[2]
Keely's family have played League of Ireland football at various levels. His late fatherPeter Keely played for Shelbourne.,[3] his brother Joe played on the sameHome FarmFAI Cup winning side of 1975 as Dermot himself. His sonAlan Keely, who died suddenly in May 2021, also played in theLeague of Ireland.[4]
As a player Keely started withHome Farm and then signed forSt. Patrick's Athletic underBarry Bridges who appointed him club captain. He played withTerry Venables while atRichmond Park (football ground). In June 1977 he was about to depart forAdelaide on a 2-year contract when the deal fell through.
He then moved toDundalk where he made his debut againstShamrock Rovers in September 1978. In his first season the County Louth outfit won the domestic double. In 1981 Keely captained Dundalk to win theFAI Cup. The League Cup was also won this season.
Keely then signed forGlentoran in theIrish League where in his two seasons there he won theIrish Cup, aGold Cup and anUlster Cup.
Keely's time with Dundalk and Glentoran saw him play in notable European Cup ties. In 1979, Dundalk reached the second round of the1979–80 European Cup and were drawn withCeltic. The first leg saw Dundalk produce a notable display to come away with a 3–2 defeat atParkhead. In the return leg in front of a packed Oriel Park with Keely as captain, Dundalk missed a last-minute opportunity to win the tie on away goals and the game finished 0–0[1]. This is regarded as one of the best performances by a League of Ireland club in European competition.
Two years later, Keely played his part in Glentoran's run to the second round of the European Cup. In the first leg againstCSKA Sofia, they lost 2–0. However, the return leg saw Glentoran take a 2–0 lead, forcing the game into extra time. With only five minutes remaining, CSKA scored the goal they needed. The tie finished 3–2 on aggregate, which had been the closest Glentoran came to reaching the last eight of European competition since 1974.[5]
Keely's first managerial job was asUCD player-manager.[1] However, after just two months at BelfieldJim McLaughlin (football manager) persuaded Keely to sign for Shamrock Rovers. He made his debut againstAthlone Town in November 1983. He scored his first goal for Rovers in a 3–2 defeat to Shelbourne atHarold's Cross on 11 December 1983. When McLaughlin left at the end of the 1985/86 season to manage his home clubDerry City Dermot was appointed player-manager on 16 May.
In the 1986/87 season, Rovers owners controversially announced the sale ofGlenmalure Park near the end of season. However, Rovers won another double in this their final season atMilltown to bring Keely's Rovers haul to 4 League championships and 3 FAI Cups.
The 1987/88 season started with Rovers controversially playing atTolka Park. Rovers fans boycotted the ground en masse. Every game was picketed and with the crowds practically gone the team invariably suffered. Keely was quoted years later as saying:
I didn't realise the depth of feeling about Glenmalure Park and all I wanted to do was win the League for Shamrock Rovers.
— D Keely, The Hoops (ISBN 0-7171-2121-6)
He resigned after the last game of the season on 8 April 1988. During his time at Rovers he won one Inter-League cap and represented the club 6 times in European competition.
In May 1988 Keely signed forBray Wanderers[6] However, he never played for the Seasiders and by November Keely was player/assistant manager toRay Treacy atHome Farm F.C.
He then took over as manager ofSligo Rovers in 1989 and achieved promotion in his first season. He guided Sligo Rovers to their highest Premier Division place in a decade in the 1990/91 season by finishing 5th.
After a brief spell atLongford Town he took over at Dundalk where he won the League Championship in 1995. He then guidedFinn Harps to promotion to the Premier Division in 1996. After managingAthlone Town he took over the reins atHome Farm Everton where he won theLeague of Ireland First Division Shield in 1998.
In the calendar year 1996 Keely managed four clubs: Dundalk, Finn Harps, Athlone Town and Home Farm.
He took over as manager of Shelbourne in July 1998[7] and won two championships (1999–2000 and 2001–02) and oneFAI Cup (2000) in his time atTolka Park. He also guided Shels to victory over Macedonian sideSloga Jugomagnat in the first round of the2000–01 UEFA Champions League qualifiers. Shels 1–0 win in the first leg inSkopje was the first away win for a League of Ireland side in anyUEFA competitions for eighteen years.
Keely then became the first manager of new league clubKildare County in 2002. After a credible 5th-place finish he then walked out to manageDerry City lasting only 3 months[8]
After a spell out of the game he then took over atDublin City.[9] He then took over the management position at Shelbourne FC in 2007 and in his first season back finished fifth in the first division. In his second season in charge, Shelbourne lead the division going into the final game, and needed a home win against mid-table Limerick to gain promotion, but were denied by a 92nd-minute equaliser, and so were overhauled by Dundalk, who won away to Kildare County. On 27 May 2010, Keely stepped down as manager ofShelbourne to become Shelbourne's youth team manager and community development officer.[10]
Keely has also been working as a Maths and English teacher inDe La Salle College Churchtown for over 20 years until he retired at Christmas 2011 he also has a weekly column in theIrish Sun.
The decision was taken yesterday, Thursday, and the Dublin-based schoolteacher has signed a two-year contract.
Keely, who was the son of former Shels boss, Dermot Keely, played in the League of Ireland for almost 10 years
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