Long made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he was selected for the Kerry minor team. He enjoyed one championship season with the minor team, however, he ended the season as All-Ireland runner-up. Long made his senior debut during the 1956 championship. Over the course of the next nine seasons, he won two All-Ireland medals in 1959 and 1962. Long also won seven Munster medals and three National Football League medals. He played his last game for Kerry in September 1964.
After being chosen on the Munster inter-provincial team for the first time in 1957, Long was a regular member of the starting fifteen at various times over the course of the following seven years. He ended his career without a Railway Cup medal.
Long's first cousin, Páidí Ó Sé, was an eight-time All-Ireland medal winner with Kerry between 1975 and 1986.
