Eoin Kelly Tipperary retires from intercounty

I think if anyone deserves their own retirement thread its the man from Mullinahone who announced his retirement this evening

http://www.thescore.ie/eoin-kelly-tipperary-1809940-Dec2014/

One of the games true greats has hung up his boots. He was a joy to witness in his pomp and carried our forwards for a long period throughout the last decade.

Wishing him all the best in his retirement. He has set an unbelievable standard for future Tipperary forwards in terms of skill.

El Canelo

Who?

Mushy

Possibly the best free-taker I can think of, and my god did he drag Tipp through the 00's. Best wishes to him in his retirement, he deserves the best.

Triboro

Well he owes Tipp nothing anyway!
Best of luck to him.

El Canelo

El Canelo wrote: »

Who?

:eek::eek::eek::eek:

mickmackey1

Wasn't far off Shefflin imo, marvellous hurler.

El Canelo

Only about 8 All Irelands

Realt Dearg Sec

Sorry to hear another great of this generation is retiring. A great hurler who played his best hurling when the team around him probably wasn't all that great, so that his ability was eclipsed a bit. His getting a second medal in 2010 was the only bright spot for me that day. Went to school with him and for a lad with that much hype around him, there was no pretentious stuff with him, lovely guy and very modest. His back injuries probably limited his last few years, but he was among the very best of his generation and best of luck to him.

tastyt

Best Tipperary hurler I have ever seen, very unlucky to be around at the same time as shefflin and co. If it wasn't for that legendary team Kelly would have quite a few more medals.

Would walk on to any team of any era.

mickmackey1

El Canelo wrote: »

Only about 8 All Irelands

I hope your first 9 posts were more intelligent

Triboro

mickmackey1 wrote: »

I hope your first 9 posts were more intelligent

Out for a troll i'd say!

El Canelo

El Canelo wrote: »

Only about 8 All Irelands

Team game at the end of the day. Taking nothing away from Shefflin but he has had the luxury of playing with an excellent set of forwards throughout his Kilkenny career that helped take the burden off him although he was the best of Kilkenny's forwards. Eoin was carrying our forward line on his back during the 00s. He didnt play with quite the same standard.

yohan the great

El Canelo wrote: »

Only about 8 All Irelands

Because he was a one man team for a lot of his career. Eoin Kelly's peak from 03 to 08 is better than anything Shefflin ever did

droppingball

As good a forward as there was around and that is from a kilkenny man. Savage striker, free taker and general stick man. Always produced for tipp on the big days and took serious watching. Seemed like a nice fella also. Sad to see all the retirements at the minute but these great men gave us some great games and memories.

savannahkat

On his day he was an excellent player. He was tough, skillful and dedicated to the Tipp cause. He did carry Tipp for long periods of his career and required a huge amount of watching. His one fault, towards the end of his career he became quite cynical and was guilty of quite a few low belts. One of the better players who falls just short of true greatness.

Hidalgo

My main memory of Kelly in his early inter-county career was in 01 v Clare in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
Ollie Baker levelled Kelly with a shoulder, such clean contact that if Kelly didn't do much for the rest of the afternoon you wouldn't really begrudge him.
Instead Kelly seemed to bounce off the ground whilst still holding onto the ball, back onto his feet and let the ball fly.

Saw him play in 2 colleges all Irelands V Flannans in which he was outstanding in the 2nd.

cul beag

An artist at work,during a period when Tipp were struggling he was lethal. Unbelievable wrists and one of the greatest of the modern era. Took some punishment aswell but always got on with it. Sad to see some many greats retiring this year but they all have given us some great memories. As for Kelly though,he was that little bit special.

Kkboy

savannahkat wrote: »

On his day he was an excellent player. He was tough, skillful and dedicated to the Tipp cause. He did carry Tipp for long periods of his career and required a huge amount of watching. His one fault, towards the end of his career he became quite cynical and was guilty of quite a few low belts. One of the better players who falls just short of true greatness.

I think he was a true great, hampered by playing for some very ordinary Tipp teams when at his prime. If he had an extra yard of pace you could argue that he would have been the best hurler of his generation.

Fwank wizzo

savannahkat wrote: »

On his day he was an excellent player. He was tough, skillful and dedicated to the Tipp cause. He did carry Tipp for long periods of his career and required a huge amount of watching. His one fault, towards the end of his career he became quite cynical and was guilty of quite a few low belts. One of the better players who falls just short of true greatness.

On his day he was fantastic and I'd agree about him getting cranky near the end of his career.His stroke on Ollie Canning,for instance,wasn't something to be proud of.
But on the other hand,I'm sure he got an awful lot more than he dished out over the years and in fairness to him,<SNIP>

Good luck to him in retirement and one things for sure,he owes Tipp nothing.

rusty83

What a legend,gave Tipp everything he had and more.Pity he didn't get to bow out with another all Ireland medal this year but it wasn't to be.Gave me some great memories over the years.

wackokid

1st saw him as a minor v Galway in '99 A.I final where he gave an exhibition on a losing team.
I wouldn't blame him for giving it back to some of those backs that tried to hurt him.
I'm not a Tipp man but I enjoyed watching Kelly and there was no better stick man.
I wish him a happy retirement.

blue note

The best corner forward I've seen and that's coming from a Waterford man! He was one of the very best I've seen, sad to see someone like him retire.

donnem33

An unbelievable hurler, a joy to have seen play the game!!

Seemed a bit of a character aswell...my favorite memory of him is a interview he gave after playing Galway in 2003 when he got cleaned by Ollie Canning...and got asked by an interviewer after the game if he was happy with his performance...and his response being that he was happy enough, he kept ollie canning to just scoring a point!

Hope he enjoys retirement and he wont have his life impacted with his back injuries!

GerB40

Mountainlad wrote: »

No need for it, have a bit of respect.

Ah in all fairness Kelly did give as good as he got. More in some cases but fúck it, it's a tough sport. My hope is that he stays on in some sort of role after Ó Shéa leaves, the respect he's earned among the players, both young and old, is invaluable..

Slightly off topic, this thread makes me realise why I love hurling so much. There's people from Kilkenny, Waterford, Galway and all over the place sending their best wishes to a man who more than likely broke their hearts during one match or another. The vast majority of hurling fans are filled with respect and admiration for the greats of the game and for that we should all be proud..

savannahkat

Mountainlad wrote: »

No need for it, have a bit of respect.

Since when is telling the truth a form of disrespect.

Mountainlad

savannahkat wrote: »

Since when is telling the truth a form of disrespect.

The fact is that he is no more involved in anything off the ball than any other player. I don't doubt that anything he gave back he got himself.

I would imagine you would be incensed if those claims were made in the Tommy Walsh thread for example, so I think it's poor enough form on a count of that to have a go at Kelly.

Fwank wizzo

<SNIP>

dcrosskid

Eoin Kelly is the best Tipp hurler I have ever seen without question. Someone said he just drops short of a true great, I call bull**** on that statement. His displays from 02-06 were sensational and 2009 & 2010 were very good years also. If he had to have been a few years younger and come through with the current crop I think Tipp could have won a couple more All Ireland's. He was just a special talent that only comes around once in a lifetime.

I have too many memories of him that it's noy right to narrow it down to just one so i'll give a few.

His performance against Limerick in 06 was the best forward display i've ever seen, simply majestic. One point in particular was sensational controlling a puck out in front of 2 others and swiveling around to score of the left. Replays and descriptions don't do the score justice but it was true class.

His goal against Clare in 02, leaving Frank Lohan on the floor and avoiding Brian's attempted block, his goal against Cork in 08 when Tipp were struggling and needed a lift he produced one of the goals of the year, his point against Clare in 05 with a touch on the hurley and strike over the shoulder without looking on a soaking wet day. His performance and battle with J.J. Delaney in 09 & 10 was compelling and one point in particular stands out in 09. What is often over looked in relation to Kelly was his vision, he often was the lynch pin for our attack and very seldom took the wrong option, not only was he a tremendous individual but he was a true team player.

I could go on for a lot longer but I'll leave it at that for now, thanks for everything you brought to the Blue & Gold Eoin. Enjoy your retirement & I hope it's not before long that we see him involved in some capacity with Tipp again.

thinkstoomuch1

Eoin Kelly, amazing player,too many are labelled great imo as emotions cloud reality and I don't buy it with some but Eoin Kelly was he great????

Saw him as a sixteen year old ist and yes he was without a doubt he was great.
Had everything, guide,poise,bottle, hunger, hurling,touch bar pace but like Brian cocoran and Brian whelan for what he lacked in pace he overcame it with hurling natural understanding and intelligence second to none and as many said on poor tipp teams stood out at times if kilkenny had him he would likely found another gear but he was so ahead of hes time he did not always have a great tipp team to constantly get more out of him.
He stood up when the need was greatest, sign of the great, great, I mean great players.

LMK

As good a forward as I've seen, in his pomp it seemed as if he would never miss.

savannahkat

Mountainlad wrote: »

The fact is that he is no more involved in anything off the ball than any other player. I don't doubt that anything he gave back he got himself.

I would imagine you would be incensed if those claims were made in the Tommy Walsh thread for example, so I think it's poor enough form on a count of that to have a go at Kelly.

Again since when is telling the truth "having a go" If you want to believe Eoin was a saint by all means believe it, it still wont make him one and it wont change the facts. He may be the best Tipp player some of you saw but he was far from being the best Tipp player I ever saw. A bit of reality could be done with on this thread. The best in the past fifteen years I would agree with and lets be honest that would not be too hard but not the best ever.

Mountainlad

savannahkat wrote: »

Again since when is telling the truth "having a go" If you want to believe Eoin was a saint by all means believe it, it still wont make him one and it wont change the facts. He may be the best Tipp player some of you saw but he was far from being the best Tipp player I ever saw. A bit of reality could be done with on this thread. The best in the past fifteen years I would agree with and lets be honest that would not be too hard but not the best ever.

Difference between 'being a saint' and guilty of 'quite a few low belts' which is a statement in poor taste really.

I've just scanned the thread, and think the most I've seen is someone say he was the best Tipp forward they ever saw. He was the best Tipp forward I ever saw too.

Whether he was the best ever or not is subjective and not really relevant. That you have to tell people something pretty much nobody has actually said, while also calling him dirty at the back end of his career seems pretty petty to me, and I merely make the Walsh comparison because he is one that has copped a lot of flak about the same thing and even though undoubtedly that opinion will be still be held by some nobody had the guile to mention it in his retirement thread (no doubt the head would be ate off anyone that tried).

Just think you should think about that. If you have no actual evidence to support him being guilty of these low belts it equates to me claiming Walsh was fond of stroke (hypothetical) which I have no doubt you'd vehemently disagree with.

dirtyden

savannahkat wrote: »

Again since when is telling the truth "having a go" If you want to believe Eoin was a saint by all means believe it, it still wont make him one and it wont change the facts. He may be the best Tipp player some of you saw but he was far from being the best Tipp player I ever saw. A bit of reality could be done with on this thread. The best in the past fifteen years I would agree with and lets be honest that would not be too hard but not the best ever.

Rather sad and undignified that you would use this thread to have a petty dig at Eoin and rather unsubtley at Tipp hurlers in general.

Eoin was one of the greats, apart from Henry and DJ I cant think of a better forward of the last decade.

Pride Fighter

I wish him a great retirement. One of the games greats and a Tipp legend.

Kenajonn

savannahkat wrote: »

Again since when is telling the truth "having a go" If you want to believe Eoin was a saint by all means believe it, it still wont make him one and it wont change the facts. He may be the best Tipp player some of you saw but he was far from being the best Tipp player I ever saw. A bit of reality could be done with on this thread. The best in the past fifteen years I would agree with and lets be honest that would not be too hard but not the best ever.

I am from Kilkenny and think it is rather sad that you have to highlight a few fouls in a career that spanned over fourteen years. It always amazes me that armature sportsmen face criticism from unknown people. Eoin Kelly one of the best.

dcrosskid

Kenajonn wrote: »

I am from Kilkenny and think it is rather sad that you have to highlight a few fouls in a career that spanned over fourteen years. It always amazes me that armature sportsmen face criticism from unknown people. Eoin Kelly one of the best.

Well said, a true hurling/GAA fan would be far more gracious to one of the modern greats of the game. It's any excuse for a cut at Tipp with Savannah and its unnecessary and fairly pathetic tbh.

As I & plenty of other's have done recently for TW's retirement & will do again for when JJ/Henry call it a day, as GAA people we appreciate everything they have given to our game, despite county allegiances.

dastardly00

savannahkat wrote: »

His one fault, towards the end of his career he became quite cynical and was guilty of quite a few low belts. One of the better players who falls just short of true greatness.

We would have been up in arms savannahkat if people had posted similar statements about Tommy Walsh when he retired. I don't think there is any need for your post above in this thread imo.

Triboro

dcrosskid wrote: »

Well said, a true hurling/GAA fan would be far more gracious to one of the modern greats of the game. It's any excuse for a cut at Tipp with Savannah and its unnecessary and fairly pathetic tbh.

As I & plenty of other's have done recently for TW's retirement & will do again for when JJ/Henry call it a day, as GAA people we appreciate everything they have given to our game, despite county allegiances.

Well said too,would be a boring summer without the likes of Henry, Eoin Kelly etc giving their all for their counties.Credit where credit is due to all these men!

Charlie69

Always a joy to watch, fantastic hurler and a sound lad too, unlucky for us Kilkenny folk ( and eoin ) he was from just over the border. Best of luck to him in retirement.

galwaylad14

One of the greats, he really was a pleasure to watch and one of the finest strikers of the ball I've ever seen. Considering he was never blessed with either great speed or physical strength it makes his achievements all the more remarkable.

I will hold one black mark against him though, the nasty belt he gave Ollie Canning in the 2010 quarter final that forced Ollie off. Tipp's last 2 scores came from Ollie's corner.

Clonmel1000

Mountainlad wrote: »

No need for it, have a bit of respect.

A bit like Shefflin when you think about it :rolleyes:......... Muppet

looder

galwaylad14 wrote: »

One of the greats, he really was a pleasure to watch and one of the finest strikers of the ball I've ever seen. Considering he was never blessed with either great speed or physical strength it makes his achievements all the more remarkable.

I will hold one black mark against him though, the nasty belt he gave Ollie Canning in the 2010 quarter final that forced Ollie off. Tipp's last 2 scores came from Ollie's corner.

You do what you have to do, to win. Tipp went onto win the All Ireland and Liam Sheedy became a messiah. If Galway won there, Sheedy was out on his ear.

Eoin hadn't pace over 20 or 30 yards but he had a 5 yard burst of pace and also had the ability to make room for himself in the tightest of corners. The best I've seen in blue & gold.

looder

tastyt wrote: »

Best Tipperary hurler I have ever seen, very unlucky to be around at the same time as shefflin and co. If it wasn't for that legendary team Kelly would have quite a few more medals.

Would walk on to any team of any era.

If he was born 10 miles to the East, he'd have a lot more medals, too

Fwank wizzo

looder wrote: »

If he was born 10 miles to the East, he'd have a lot more medals, too

Wasn't he born in KK?

gobo99

Fwank wizzo wrote: »

Wasn't he born in KK?

I think he just went to school in Kierans college.
Top 6 hurling championship scorers of all time are Shefflin, Eddie Keher, Eoin Kelly, Christy Ring, DJ Carey and Nicky Rackard. Out of the top 6 only Christy Ring didn't go to Kierans.

Diabhal Beag

dcrosskid wrote: »

As I & plenty of other's have done recently for TW's retirement & will do again for when JJ/Henry call it a day

I only read this post about 2 minutes before JJ's retirement was announced.

gobo99

gobo99 wrote: »

I think he just went to school in Kierans college.
Top 6 hurling championship scorers of all time are Shefflin, Eddie Keher, Eoin Kelly, Christy Ring, DJ Carey and Nicky Rackard. Out of the top 6 only Christy Ring didn't go to Kierans.

Kelly was in Scoil Ruain beforehand which wasnt a bad hurling nursery in the 90s either. Declan Fanning, Paul Curran, Pat Kerwick were some of a few who went on to represent the Tipp Senior hurlers.

Realt Dearg Sec

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Kelly was in Scoil Ruain beforehand which wasnt a bad hurling nursery in the 90s either. Declan Fanning, Paul Curran, Pat Kerwick were some of a few who went on to represent the Tipp Senior hurlers.

Not really in the same league though, in fairness to the lads you've mentioned.

Browney7

Himself and Damien Reale had some great battles down the years and will always remember the game where Reale chopped down on his hand (rightly got a second yellow) but there was no theatrics from him. He was a great leader for Tipp and owes them nothing.

Realt Dearg Sec

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

Not really in the same league though, in fairness to the lads you've mentioned.

Yeah tbf the colleges was a always a stiffer competition than the vocational schools. But in hindsight SR had an outstanding team on paper.

looder

looder wrote: »

You do what you have to do, to win. Tipp went onto win the All Ireland and Liam Sheedy became a messiah. If Galway won there, Sheedy was out on his ear.

Eoin hadn't pace over 20 or 30 yards but he had a 5 yard burst of pace and also had the ability to make room for himself in the tightest of corners. The best I've seen in blue & gold.

It was Eoins little jink that made him unique. He could turn on a sixpence