following a trial with plymouth argyle, kiely signed for bury on 15 august 1996 for a tribunal-decided fee of £125,000. he spent three seasons at bury, making 137 league appearances in the process. he was instrumental in bury winning the second division title in the 1996–97 season, most notably with an 88th-minute penalty save in the penultimate game of the season from watford's tommy mooney. bury requiring a point to guarantee a second automatic promotion in as many seasons had kiely to thank after he kept the scoreline at 0–0 in a memorable day at vicarage road.