Seán Kelly | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kelly in 2024 | |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| Assumed office 1 July 2009 | |
| Constituency | South |
| Leader of Fine Gael in theEuropean Parliament | |
| Assumed office 4 May 2014 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1952-04-26)26 April 1952 (age 73) Killarney,County Kerry, Ireland |
| Political party |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | St Brendan's College, Killarney |
| Alma mater | |
| Website | seankelly |
Seán Kelly (born 26 April 1952) is an Irish politician who has been aMember of the European Parliament (MEP) fromIreland for theSouth constituency since July 2009. He is a member ofFine Gael, part of theEuropean People's Party.[1]
He served as the 34thPresident of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 2003 to 2006. He was the first person fromCounty Kerry to hold the office, being elected at his first attempt by a record margin at the GAA Congress in 2002. In July 2006, he took up the position of Executive Chairman of the Irish Institute of Sport, a body that was set up inIreland to support elite athletes and players, and served as Executive President until he announced his resignation in July 2008.[2]
Kelly was born in Knockataggle,Kilcummin,Killarney,County Kerry in 1952. He was born into a family that was deeply involved in theGaelic Athletic Association (GAA). His grandfather had been chairman of the local club and his four uncles had distinguished playing careers, with his uncle, alsoSeán Kelly, starring at full-forward forKerry in theirAll-Ireland SFC victory againstArmagh in the1953 final. He is a first cousin toFionnuala O'Kelly, wife of formerTaoiseachEnda Kenny.[3]
Kelly was educated at Kilcummin National School,Tralee CBS andSt Brendan's College, Killarney. He qualified as a primary school teacher inSt Patrick's College of Education,Drumcondra and then attendedUniversity College Dublin where he received a BA in 1974 and Higher Diploma in Education (HDip) in 1975. He worked as a teacher inDublin (Cromcastle Green, Kilmore West) and in St. Brendan's, Killarney.[citation needed]
Before being elected president of the GAA he served as chairman of the East Kerry from 1975 to 1987 and County Kerry Boards from 1987 to 1997 andMunster Council from 1997 to 2000. He also was one of the founding members of theSt Patrick's (East Kerry) hurling team in 1984. As county chairman, he founded the Kerry GAA Supporters' Club in 1987.[4]
As the first person from County Kerry to hold the office ofPresident of the Gaelic Athletic Association, his presidency is seen as a landmark one in moving forward the Association on so many fronts with the introduction ofChristy Ring Cup andNicky Rackard Cup,Tommy Murphy Cup, All-Ireland Junior and Intermediate Championships, he also oversaw the completion of theCroke Park re-development through the completion ofHill 16/Northern end and the building of the Croke Park Jury's Hotel. He introduced the President's Awards and developed a great working relationship with the GPA and initiated major improvements in player welfare matters.
Concluding his career in the GAA he published an autobiography in 2007, titled "Rule 42 and all that".[5]
He is also credited with the successful conclusion of arrangements for the use of Croke Park, the GAA's 82,500 capacity national stadium, by theIrish Rugby Football Union and theFootball Association of Ireland whileLansdowne Road was being re-developed.
He was awarded an honorary doctorate byDublin Institute of Technology in February 2007.
Seán Kelly was elected as aFine Gael candidate at the2009 European Parliament election for theSouth constituency, at the expense of sitting MEP and party colleagueColm Burke.[6] Kelly is a member of theEuropean Parliament'sCommittee on Industry, Research and Energy, theCommittee on International Trade and theCommittee on Constitutional Affairs. He is a member of theDelegation for relations with South Africa and he serves as a member of the Delegation for relations with the Countries ofSouth East Asia andASEAN.[7]
Kelly was elected MEP of the Year for Research and Innovation by fellow MEPs for his work on the European Parliament'sITRE Committee in 2012.[8]
Kelly is a recipient of IAB Europe's Award for Leadership and Excellence in Public Policy for his work on data protection.[9]
He had been mentioned as a possible Fine Gael candidate for the2011 presidential election.[3][10] He was re-elected as an MEP for the South constituency at the2014 European Parliament election.
In December 2020, Kelly received the Industry, Research & Innovation award atThe Parliament Magazine's annualMEP Awards.[11]
Kelly is known for his frequent use of theIrish language in the European Parliament. In January 2022, he submitted the first amendment to EU legislation that was written in the Irish language.[12]
Kelly has lobbied to end the bi-annual clock change in the EU.[13] However he is in favour of Ireland's adoption of year-roundSummer time orCentral European Time (UTC+1)[14] instead of presentWinter timeWestern European Time (UTC), closer to Ireland's naturalsolar time (UTC-0:30). Summer time (orDaylight Saving Time) is exactly the most harmful time adjustment for human health based on recent chronobiological research.[15]
Kelly ran for re-election at the2024 European Parliament election in Ireland with running mate John Mullins.[16] Kelly was re-elected on the first count, topping the poll with 122,777 (17.8%) first preference votes .[17]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| Gaelic games | ||
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| Preceded by | President of the Gaelic Athletic Association 2003–2006 | Succeeded by |
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