Patrick Charles Keely was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, and received his early training in Ireland where his father was a draftsman and builder. In 1842 Patrick Keely emigrated to the United States and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where he practiced carpentry for several years until he was approached in 1847 to design the new Roman Catholic Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in the Williamsburgh section of Brooklyn. The positive reaction to this church quickly established Keely's reputation as an architect and builder. The pressing need for new churches, the relative scarcity of competent architects of the Roman Catholic faith, and Keely's reputation for honesty and integrity quickly made him a popular choice among the hierarchy and clergy throughout the eastern United States. Obituaries published at the time of his death in 1896 credited him with producing designs for nearly six hundred churches; together with hundreds of other institutional buildings for dioceses throughout the country. Keely designed churches throughout the eastern United States and Canada; however, the majority of his churches were built in the mill towns and cities of New York and New England. Keely was also commissioned to design many of the cathedrals built in the Northeast; including all of those built in New England during the nineteenth century and many of the more substantial parish churches which were elevated to cathedral status during the twentieth century. Ecclesiastical architecture was Keely's specialty and while he designed a few churches for Protestant congregations, he worked almost exclusively for Roman Catholic patrons.

A number of architects received their training in Patrick Keely's office, including several members of his family. His wife's brother James Farmer and her brother-in-law James Murphy were both associated with Keely's practice. The partnership of Keely & Murphy operated offices in Brooklyn, New York and Providence, Rhode Island during the 1860s until Murphy opened his own practice in Providence in 1867. Patrick Keely's sons Charles Keely, John J. Keely, and son-in-law Thomas F. Houghton were also trained in his office. John J. Keely operated his own architectural practice in Brooklyn for a number of years until his death in 1879. His brother Charles remained in practice with their father and worked closely with him throughout the 1880s. Charles Keely died suddenly of pneumonia in 1889 while supervising construction of the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, Connecticut. Despite several years of declining health, Patrick Keely, with the assistance of his son-in-law Thomas Houghton, continued to practice architecture until shortly before his death. Several churches designed by Keely were still under construction when he died in 1896.

© Kevin F. Decker, 2000.

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