He was a highly talented midfielder, and one of the most stylish and accomplished full-backs in Gaelic football history.
[2] He was part of the St Brendan's Killarney side that won the school's first Hogan Cup title in 1969.
He lined out in three Munster Minor Football Championship finals but was on the losing side to Cork in all three.
He lined out in the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship Home final where Kerry faced Wicklow.
O'Keeffe retired reluctantly on medical advice after the 1984 Munster Final with a serious hip complaint, having played relatively few games in the previous 18 months.
His last game for Kerry was in the full back position against Tipperary in the 1984 Munster SFC[clarify] semi-final.
O'Keeffe has always maintained that probably his most dangerous opponent was Dublin's Jimmy Keaveney, with whom he enjoyed several battles.
His performance against Offaly's Matt Connor in the 1982 All-Ireland final was all the more remarkable considering he had little or no training preparation owing to injury.
In May 2020, the Irish Independent named O'Keeffe at number ten in its "Top 20 footballers in Ireland over the past 50 years".