[1] Born in Galbally, County Limerick, Kiely first played competitive hurling and Gaelic football in his youth.
[2] [3][4] Kiely made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he joined the Limerick minor hurling team.
In his first season with the team, Limerick were beaten by eventual Munster Championship winners Cork after extra-time in the semi-final.
[6] The following year, Kiely's side lost out by two points to eventual All-Ireland champions Clare in the Munster final.
[7] In 2011, Kiely combined his role as intermediate manager with that of a selector with Leo O'Connor's Limerick under-21 team.
On 3 August 2011, he was part of the management team that guided Limerick to a 4-20 to 1-27 extra-time defeat of Cork in the final of the Munster Championship.
[9] His first season as a selector ended with Limerick failing to secure promotion from Division 1B of the National Hurling League before exiting the championship after a quarter-final defeat by Kilkenny.
[20] In his first season in charge, Limerick reached the semi-finals of the National League, losing by 1-11 to 1-21 to eventual champions Galway.
When the championship started in October, having been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Limerick retained their Munster title by defeating Waterford in the final.
This victory gave them back the All-Ireland crown and also insured that Kiely's Limerick side went through all competitions in 2020 unbeaten.
[29][30] In 2021, Limerick surrendered their league crown but went on to retain the Munster title following a dramatic comeback against Tipperary in the final, with Kiely's side coming back from ten points down to win by five.
On the 29th April, Limerick's unbeaten run in the Championship came to an end when Clare defeated them in The Munster Round Robin at the Gaelic Grounds by 1-24 to 2-20.