He was executive director of the Ireland Canada University Foundation, chairman of the Scholarship Board of the O'Reilly Foundation, and president of Independent College Dublin, and chairman of the board of trustees of the Friends of Bethlehem University in Ireland.
He then attended a boarding school Castleknock College, on the outskirts of Dublin, from 1947 to 1953, where he became Head Prefect and captained a rugby team.
[2] Kelly pursued a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at University College Dublin (UCD).
He was promoted to senior lecturer at UCD in 1976, holding that post until 1985, and during this period was elected three times as dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, starting in 1979.
He has also written letters and leader and education comment articles in the Irish Times,[4] notably on the battle between Newman's "community of scholars" concept and vocationalism, academic pay, European student exchange and in latter times, on Palestine and Bethlehem University.
He has worked with many organisations including: the Universities of the Capital Cities of Europe, the European University Industry Forum, the Committee of Rectors of Europe, the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology, and Directorate-General XXII for Education of the European Union.
He chaired the international group which advised the Government of Newfoundland & Labrador on its structures of higher education in 2006.
[citation needed] Kelly publicly criticised UCD for a planned failure to attend the canonisation of its founder in late 2019, and the university subsequently reversed its position.