His league and championship career at senior level with the Dublin county team spanned sixteen seasons from 1964 to 1980.
Born in Whitehall, Dublin, Keaveney's first sporting interest was in association football; however, he was later introduced to Gaelic games by his Belfast-born father.
He was educated at St Joseph's Secondary School in Fairview where he favoured hurling over Gaelic football.
Over the course of the following sixteen seasons, Keaveney won three All-Ireland medals, beginning with a lone triumph in 1974, followed by back-to-back championships in 1976 and 1977.
Nearby rivals O'Toole's provided the opposition, however, at the full-time whistle St Vincent's were the champions and Keaveney picked up his first county senior championship winners' medal.
St. Vincent's failed to make any impact over the next few years and, after losing the county final of 1969, Keaveney's side had a chance to atone in the championship decider of 1970.
At the end of the sixty minutes St Vincent's were the champions by 1–10 to 1-8 and Keaveney added a fourth county medal to his collection.
A defeat of Croabh Chiaráin allowed St Vincent's to retain their county title for the second year in succession.
St Vincent's subsequently represented the county in the provincial club series of games and even reached the final.
The sides were level six times in that game and a pointed free by Keaveney in the dying seconds secured a draw.
[3] St Vincent's lost out to UCD in the next two county finals, however, both sides met in the championship decider for a fourth consecutive year in 1975.
Keaveney's side were awarded the title after the collegians gave them a walkover due to the final clashing with the university exams.
[5] Keaveney picked up a seventh county winners' medal in 1976 as St Vincent's retained their title after a narrow 3–12 to 1–15 victory over UCD.
In spite of some great displays in the county champions, St Vincent's were later defeated by Summerhill of Meath in the Leinster final.
The men from the west, who had been beaten in two of the previous three championship deciders, took a 1–4 to 0–5 lead at half-time, however, the real turning point of the game came in the 52nd minute.
Dublin proved that their success in 1974 was not a flash-in-the-pan by retaining the Leinster title in 1975 after an enormous 3–13 to 0–8 defeat of Kildare.
On a rain-soaked day John Egan and substitute Ger O'Driscoll scored two goals for Kerry and 'the Dubs' were ambushed by 2–12 to 0–11.
[9] A narrow 2–8 to 1–9 defeat of Meath gave Keaveney a third consecutive Leinster winners' medal, his fourth in total.
[tone] Immediately after the game started he careered through the Kerry half-back and full-back lines, however, his shot at goal went wide.
The eleven-point victory in this game made Keaveney's side the favourites to secure a remarkable third All-Ireland title in-a-row.
A free was awarded and the Kerry forward lobbed the ball over the head of Paddy Cullen, who was caught off his line arguing with the referee.
New Kerry full-forward Eoin Liston entered the record books as he scored a hat-trick of goals.