He moved to RTÉ Radio in 2000 to present Mystery Train[2] and won the PPI Award for Music Broadcaster of the Year.
When Mystery Train was suddenly taken off air in 2007 it was an event of some national controversy with the matter being raised in the Irish Senate.
Kelly admitted in interviews that he seriously considered quitting altogether at this time but late in 2008 he moved to RTÉ Lyric FM to present a new and very different show called The JK Ensemble.
Guests have included Neil Hannon, Dorothy Cross, Cillian Murphy, Lisa Dwan and Gavin Friday.
The View has also been the scene of the debut performances by many acts including the 2006 winner of the Choice Music Prize Julie Feeney, and Josh Ritter.
The View Presents was a separate strand of interview specials where Kelly talked at length with the likes of Seamus Heaney, Neil Jordan, The Edge, Steve Reich and Emmylou Harris.
For several seasons he presented the RTÉ music series Other Voices[7] where he introduced artists like Ray Davies, Amy Winehouse and Elbow from a small church in Dingle in County Kerry.
Over the years he has interviewed (for TV, radio and The Irish Times) many leading figures in the music and arts world – Van Morrison, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Seamus Heaney, Nina Simone, Brian Eno, Al Green, Steve Reich, Peter Brook, John McGahern, Solomon Burke, George Martin, Sam Phillips, U2, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Yoko Ono, B.
He worked as a music consultant on the Neil Jordan movie The Good Thief – which explains all the Leonard Cohen in the film.
Kelly has written a column for The Irish Times and contributed to numerous other publications on matters musical and cultural.
It was singled out for special praise by the writer William Gibson when asked by the (London) Independent what books he had by his bedside.
The Little Hammer was also critically well received with the Guardian describing it as, "Immediate, passionate and shot through with descriptive brilliance, the narrative voice is both charming and convincing."