Kelly began his journalism career with the ''Donegal People's Press
before later joining the Irish Press''. He joined
RTÉ in 1968. During his career, Kelly covered the
conflict in Northern Ireland throughout the 1970s and 1980s as well as various international events. He succeeded
Seán Duignan as RTÉ's political correspondent in 1988, later becoming political editor. In this role, Kelly covered several general election campaigns, as well as state visits by
Nelson Mandela and
Mikhail Gorbachev. He was one of the first presenters of
The Week in Politics. Kelly retired in 2002. Kelly died on 3 January 2025, at the age of 86. ==References==