John Kelly is an Irish sports writer from Carlow who lives in Kerry. He has covered local Gaelic games for The Nationalist newspaper and writes about the people and records of Irish sport. His books include Carlow GAA: Game of My Life, published by Hero Books in 2022, and his collaboration with former Republic of Ireland international Mick Martin.
Kelly’s work combines remembered sporting experiences with historical research. The GAA Covered uses match programs to examine the visual and social history of Gaelic games, while In the Blood: The Mick Martin Story follows a professional soccer career. The subjects range from county players recalling a defining occasion to an international midfielder describing life in English clubs and later work in coaching and scouting.
John Kelly Books
| Book | Year | Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The GAA Covered | 2025 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| In the Blood | 2026 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
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A graduate of the MA in Irish Regional History at Carlow College, Kelly researched the founding of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Carlow and Kilkenny for his thesis. He subsequently applied the research and writing skills developed during the course to The GAA Covered. Although the book was not a direct extension of that thesis, both projects concerned the development and recording of Gaelic games.
Kelly collected match programs from childhood. To prepare the illustrated history, he traveled around Ireland to meet collectors and locate material from provincial and All-Ireland finals. Carlow College reported that he scanned or photographed more than 850 programs and wrote approximately 25,000 words of commentary. Some years required investigation into whether a final’s program had been produced at all. The finished book was launched at Palatine GAA Club.
His earlier Carlow GAA: Game of My Life brings together thirty hurlers and Gaelic footballers, each recalling a day that defined their sporting experience. Contributors include Moling Morrissey, Tommy Corcoran, Pat Coady, Brendan Murphy, and Martin Kavanagh. The collection places the players’ own memories at the center, preserving a county’s sporting history through particular games and individual recollections.
The research brought private collections together into a visual record that extended well beyond Kelly’s own holdings.
Soccer Books
In the Blood: The Mick Martin Story: Mick Martin recounts his progress from Dublin and the League of Ireland to Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle United, and the Republic of Ireland. Written with Kelly, the memoir follows a midfielder whose father, Con Martin, had also represented his country. Professional dressing-room experiences accompany accounts of his subsequent work as a coach and international scout. Published in 2026.
Martin’s recollections include the abrupt transition from holding a full-time job in Ireland to sharing a club with George Best and Bobby Charlton. The book also covers his Newcastle captaincy, later coaching connections with Newcastle and Celtic, and scouting for Ireland under Giovanni Trapattoni and Martin O’Neill. These later roles extend its view of professional soccer beyond Martin’s years as a player.
Multi-sport Books
The GAA Covered: A History of the GAA in Match Programmes: Kelly traces more than a century of Gaelic games through the covers of provincial and All-Ireland final match programs. Images dating from 1913 onward are accompanied by commentary placing the designs and fixtures in context. The illustrated collection records changes in the presentation of the games while preserving material associated with local communities, major occasions, and supporters’ own collections. Published in 2025.