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Alan Keely

Irish footballer (1982–2021)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionDec 5, 2025
Entity authorityQ4707029
Source-derived summary

Alan Vincent Keely (10 May 1982 – 3 May 2021) was an Irish footballer who played as a defender for several League of Ireland teams between 2001 and 2009, including Shelbourne F.C., Finn Harps F.C. and Waterford United F.C. He was a member of the Finn Harps' squad that won the 2004 League of Ireland First Division.

Early life and education

Keely was born on 10 May 1982 in Dublin, Ireland. The son of former League of Ireland player and manager, Dermot Keely, he attended St. Joseph's CBS and was named as an All-Ireland schoolboy defender.

Keely attended the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and was a student-athlete on scholarship with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team. In 2002, his only season with the team, he appeared in 22 games and scored 1 goal with 2 assists. The Gauchos appeared in the 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, which was the first time the school had participated in the tournament. He was named as the 2002 Big West Conference's Freshman of the Year and was placed on the All-Conference First Team.

Playing career

Before attending UCSB, Keely began his senior career with Shelbourne F.C. in 2001 who was then under the management of his father, Dermot. He made one senior appearance for Shelbourne in 2001–02 season during a League of Ireland Cup match against Shamrock Rovers on 29 October 2001.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Alan Keely” as irish footballer (1982–2021). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Alan, Keely and Irish.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1982, 2021, 2001, 2009—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1982-05-10. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Alan, Keely and Irish providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Alan Keely”, the useful work is to connect “irish footballer (1982–2021)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 5, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q4707029. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1982, 2021, 2001 and 2009.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Alan Keely”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Alan Keely primary sources, Alan Keely archive and Alan research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Alan Keely”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Alan Keely” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.