Tottenham Hotspur Kelly was born in
Dublin, where he played football for
Belvedere before joining
Tottenham Hotspur through their youth programme. He was something of an understudy to
Stephen Carr (who was subsequently transferred to
Newcastle United) and then to
Paul Stalteri. He made his Spurs first team debut in 2003 and then went on to make 37 Premier League appearances, scoring two league goals, against
Birmingham City and
Aston Villa.
Birmingham City Birmingham City were reported to have agreed a deal to sign Kelly in January 2006 before Tottenham's shortage of defenders put a stop to the move. He did join Birmingham, however, on 28 June for an initial fee of £750,000, potentially rising to £1.25 million depending on his success with the club. He made 36 appearances in the
2006–07 Championship as Birmingham were promoted as runners-up. Kelly was the only outfield player in the
2007–08 Premier League season to play every minute of every game for his club.
Stoke City (loan) On 4 February 2009, Kelly joined
Stoke City on loan from Birmingham City until the end of the
2008–09 season. Stoke City had to wait for 36 hours after the January transfer window shut for confirmation of the deal. Kelly made his Stoke debut in their next game, a 2–0 defeat to
Sunderland, but picked up a hamstring injury while on international duty which kept him out of Stoke's next fixture.
Fulham in 2009 On 16 June 2009, Kelly signed a three-year contract with
Fulham, making him the club's first signing of the 2009 summer window. He said he was delighted to join the Cottagers and was looking forward to representing the club in both the Premier League and
Europa League. He helped Fulham reach the
2010 UEFA Europa League Final, playing in their memorable win against
Juventus on the way, but he was left out of the squad for the final itself.
Reading Kelly joined
Reading on 11 January 2013, signing a -year contract. He made his debut on 19 January in Reading's 2–1 away win over
Newcastle United at
St James' Park, made his home debut a week later against
Sheffield United in a 4–0
FA Cup win, and soon afterwards, stated that "regardless of what happens now and for the rest of the season, coming here is the best decision I've made in football". Kelly started every game in what remained of the season, and the team were relegated to the Championship. He was allocated squad number 3 for the 2013–14 season. Kelly scored his first goal for Reading on 1 January 2014, a 95th-minute header from
Royston Drenthe's free kick that gave his side a draw at home to
Nottingham Forest. Kelly left Reading at the end of the 2014–15 season, despite being offered a new contract by the club.
Rotherham United On 19 November 2015, Kelly joined
Championship club
Rotherham United until the end of the
2015–16 season. He left the club at the end of the 2016–17 season. ==International career==