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Pivotal force behind victorious EURO50 team relives ‘unbelievable weekend’
Keith Kelly has revelled in an exciting career with Mercury, one that has afforded him with an opportunity for both travel, and progression over the past six years.
Currently working as an Appointed Person (AP) on a hyperscale data centre project in Ireland, Keith’s latest Mercury accomplishment was achieved away from the tools – as a key figure in the Irish team that claimed victory at EURO50.
With Mercury celebrating 50 years of business in 2022, we recently hosted EURO50 – an event marking this incredible milestone – in Frankfurt, Germany. After a pulsating tournament, Keith, along with his teammates were crowned inaugural winners of the Frank O’Kane Cup.
Keith joined Mercury as an electrician back in 2016 and within a year, was presented with an opportunity to work in Odense, Denmark. Following an enjoyable stint abroad, Keith returned to Ireland in 2020, where he has remained since.
“It was always my aim to work for a big company like Mercury,” he explains. “They’ve always supported me to develop further. I started out with Mercury on a big project just outside Dublin, I was then offered the opportunity to work in Odense. Living abroad and experiencing different cultures helped to grow both my career, and myself as a person.”
Mercury’s presence across Europe has developed significantly since our entrepreneurial founding back in 1972. Now a general contractor with a reach across 16+ countries, the company has enjoyed a journey of diverse growth, which EURO50 reflects.
16 teams from 11 countries were recently joined by hundreds of spectators at Eintracht Frankfurt Rugby grounds to mark our 50th anniversary
As a key member of the winning team, Keith recounts a ‘memorable weekend’ in Frankfurt.
“The whole thing was just brilliant. The scale of the tournament, and the number of people watching on was something else!”
Our Ireland (2) team consisted of a range of Mercury people, hailing from a variety of different backgrounds. Some joined the company as apprentices, while others are now working in Ireland, or in different projects across Europe. Keith has spent many years working with the majority of this teammates and insists that they’re a driven group, both on and off the football pitch.
“They’re all good people with great characters, and they’re excellent workers as well,” he states.
A firm believer in sport as a means to maintain workplace morale and wellbeing, Keith is adamant that the excitement around EURO50 is here to stay.
“The WhatsApp group is still buzzing! But even before the qualifiers, we played a practice match beforehand, and we won 13-0. The day after the game, we were all chatting, joking, and having a good laugh. It’s great how something as simple as football can work wonders on team morale.”
Despite this positive outlook, Keith says that his Ireland (2) teammates felt that eyes were on other teams heading into the tournament. He believes that the atmosphere and occasion spurred them on to victory.
“In the qualifiers in Dublin, we were beaten 3-1 in the final by the Ireland (1) team. Heading over to Germany, we felt they were the big favourites. We didn’t give ourselves much of a chance at winning. But the carnival atmosphere, the buzz of everyone watching on… It was just unique, and it made us want to push on and win!” Keith recalls.
After topping a group containing Berlin, Denmark, and Advanced Technology (2), Keith’s side were presented with a chance to redeem themselves against their Ireland (1) rivals in the quarterfinals.
“Being honest, we approached the quarter-final with a ‘have a go’ attitude. Once we got the first goal, we could feel ourselves perking up and suddenly we believed. You can relate this back to working terms. If you apply a ‘can do attitude’ in professional environment, you will achieve a lot.”
After a 4-1 win against their Irish rivals, a clash with Advanced Technology (1) stood between Keith’s team and a place in the final. With a slender 1-0 win, Keith & Co. booked their place in the final against a talented France team.
Over 350 spectators took to the side lines for a tense final encounter, which Keith says was the icing on the cake of a memorable weekend.
“The final game, the atmosphere between the Irish and French fans was just amazing,” he explains.
After a nervy 1-1 draw, the game went to penalties, with Ireland (2) holding their steel to claim the Frank O’Kane cup in sudden death.
“Winning the game on penalties was unbelievable. Afterwards there was a heap of people coming up to say congratulations which was a great feeling. Overall, the atmosphere at EURO50 was just amazing. You had so many people present from different projects across the continent, and it made for a fantastic weekend.”
After a celebratory night out in Frankfurt, Keith and his teammates were then tasked with bringing the Frank O’Kane Cup back to Dublin on a busy Aer Lingus flight. First, they had to bring the trophy through airport security, before then charming a couple of airport staff members to allow them to bring the piece of silverware on board.
“Bringing the trophy home was a great bit of fun. We didn’t even know if it would fit through the security scanners, then we had to squeeze it into the overhead baggage lockers. We joked to airport staff that it was the Champions League trophy and that seemed to do the trick. It was an apt end to the weekend really. It was brilliant to meet so many diverse colleagues from across Mercury. The whole atmosphere was excellent from start to finish,” Keith adds.
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