Kealy attended Roscrea Vocational School and played hurling at all levels during his time there.
He later lined out at centre-back when Roscrea were beaten by Kilruane MacDonaghs in the 1985 Tipperary SHC final.
[2] Kealy later played with the St Gabriel's club in London.
Kealy first appeared on the inter-county scene with Tipperary during a two-year tenure with the minor team.
[3] He was centre-back when Tipperary beat Galway by 2-07 to 0-04 in the 1982 All-Ireland minor final.