An All Hallows past man, Denis Kelly was part of the Liverpool flying squad of the IRA in 1920, caught in action and was imprisoned in Walton prison. He went on hunger strike twice to get political prisoner recognition (unsuccessfully) and was released in 1921.
He went onto help set up An Garda Síochána, working from Dublin Castle during its handover to the State. He finally retired from Newbridge College as a professor of maths in the 1930s.
Kelly set up a fund to help provide tomb stones for Old IRA men who had fallen on hard times in later years.