He began to paint and sketch political activists including members of the Land League. O'Kelly lived in Concarneau, Connemara and eventually the United States, painting rural scenes in the prior and city life in New York City. He knew Mark Twain, and painted a portrait of Huckleberry Finn, which the author inspected and commented on. He died on 12 January 1936 in Poughkeepsie, New York. Selected works