Clare Minor and under-21 Kelly first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Clare minor team in 2010. He won his first
Munster medal that year following a 1-16 to 1-11 defeat of
Waterford. Clare subsequently qualified for the All-Ireland decider against
Kilkenny, however, Kelly's side faced a narrow 2-10 to 0-14 defeat. In 2011 Kelly was appointed captain of the Clare minor team. He won a second consecutive Munster medal that year following a 1-20 to 3-9 defeat of Waterford once again. The subsequent All-Ireland semi final saw Clare defeated by Galway after extra time. Kelly also became a member of the Clare under-21 team in 2011, however they were defeated in the Munster Semi-final by Limerick on a scoreline of 2-19 to 1-15 despite a contribution of 3 points from play from Tony Kelly. This remains Kelly's only defeat in the Munster Minor and Under-21 Championships. Kelly won his first
Munster medal in that grade as Clare defeated
Tipperary by 1-16 to 1-14 in the 2012 Munster Final in Cusack Park in Ennis. After trailing at half-time, Clare outscored Kilkenny by 1-10 to 0-4 in the second period of play to secure a 2-17 to 2-11 victory in the All-Ireland final of the same year. It was Kelly's first
All-Ireland medal in the grade. Clare dominated the under-21 series once again in 2013. A 1-17 to 2-10 defeat of Tipperary in the provincial decider gave Kelly a second Munster medal. The subsequent All-Ireland saw Clare face first-time finalists
Antrim. In a complete mismatch, Clare powered to a 2-28 to 0-12 victory, with Kelly collecting a second consecutive All-Ireland medal.
Senior Kelly made his senior championship debut at left wing-forward and scoring 1-2 in a 1-16 to 0-16 defeat of
Dublin on 7 July 2012. On 8 September 2013 Kelly lined out against
Cork in his first All-Ireland final. Three second-half goals through
Conor Lehane,
Anthony Nash and
Pa Cronin, and a tenth point of the game from
Patrick Horgan gave Cork a one-point lead as injury time came to an end. A last-gasp point from corner-back
Domhnall O'Donovan earned Clare a 0-25 to 3-16 draw. The replay on 28 September was regarded as one of the best in recent years. Clare's
Shane O'Donnell was a late addition to the team, and went on to score a hat-trick of goals in the first nineteen minutes of the game. Horgan top scored for Cork, however, further goals from
Conor McGrath and
Darach Honan secured a 5-16 to 3-16 victory for Clare. It was Kelly's first
All-Ireland medal. He rounded off the season by collecting his first
All-Star award, while also becoming the only player in the history of the scheme to have won the
Hurler and
Young Hurler of the Year awards in the same year. In June 2014, Kelly featured in the
Sky Sports television advert to promote their new broadcasting deal with the
GAA. On 8 May 2016, Clare won the
2016 National Hurling League, their first
National Hurling League title since 1978 after a 1-23 to 2-19 win against
Waterford in a replay. Kelly scored 1-6 in the game, including two late points to win the game. On 25 October 2020, Kelly scored 17 points in the first game of the delayed
Munster Championship against
Limerick, in a game that Clare lost 1-23 to 0-36. On 7 November 2020, he scored 0-13 against
Laois in round 1 of the qualifiers, and a week later scored 1-15 against
Wexford in round 2. On 21 July
2024, he was captain and scored 1-4 as Clare won the
All-Ireland for the first time in 11 years after an extra-time win against
Cork by 3-29 to 1-34, claiming their fifth All-Ireland title. Kelly won an
All Star at the end of the 2024 season. ==Career statistics==