Kiely made his championship debut for Tipperary in 2011 against Louth On 31 July 2016, he started in the half back line as Tipperary defeated Galway in the 2016 All-Ireland Quarter-finals at Croke Park to reach their first All-Ireland semi-final since 1935.
[1][2] On 21 August 2016, Tipperary were beaten in the semi-final by Mayo on a 2–13 to 0–14 scoreline, with Kiely receiving a black card in the first ten minutes of the match for a pull on the jersey of Jason Doherty which the referee David Coldrick deemed as a cynical foul.
Former players including Jim McGuinness and Peter Canavan have said that the black card was a wrong decision by the referee.
[3][4][5][6][7][8] On 22 November 2020, Tipperary won the 2020 Munster Senior Football Championship after a 0–17 to 0–14 win against Cork in the final.
[9][10] In May 2021, Kiely was ruled out for the entirety of the delayed 2021 season after sustaining a grade three C hamstring tear and tendon damage.