John Meyler

Infobox GAA player
code= Hurling
sport = Hurling


name = John Meyler
irish = Seán Mac Maoilir
fullname = John Meyler
placeofbirth = Our Lady's Island
countryofbirth = County Wexford
dob =
height =
nickname =
county = Cork
province = Munster
club = St. Finbarr's
clposition = Midfield
clubs =
clyears =
clapps(points) =
clcounty =
clprovince=
clallireland =
counties = Wexford
Cork
icposition = Half-back
icyears = 1973-1982
1983-1987
icapps(points) =
icprovince = 0
icallireland = 0
allstars =
clupdate =
icupdate =

John Meyler (born 1956 in Our Lady's Island, County Wexford) is a retired Irish hurling manager and former player,. He played hurling with his local clubs Our Lady's Island and St. Finbarr's and with the Wexford and Cork senior inter-county teams from 1973 until 1987. Meyler later served as manager of both the Kerry and Wexford senior inter-county teams in the 1990s and 2000s.

Biography

John Meyler was born in Our Lady’s Island, County Wexford in 1956. He was educated locally and in 1969 he started studying at Gormanston College. It was here that he first took an interest in both hurling and football. In 1974 Meyler entered University College Cork where he became involved in the sporting life of the university. As well as Gaelic games he played soccer for UCC and scored a hat-trick in the Collingwood Cup, the inter-varsity tounament. Before long Meyler had joined Cork Alberts F.C. with whom he played in the League of Ireland. He graduated from UCC in 1979 and became an active teacher at Moulton College in Northampton. Whilst there he was promoted to Course Manager for Sport. Meyler later served as a lecturer in the Cork Institute of Technology. [cite book| first=Denis| last=Walsh| title=Hurling: The Revolution Years| publisher=Penguin Ireland| year=2005| id= | pages=p. 109] .

Meyler's son, David Meyler, plays soccer with Sunderland F.C. in Britain.

Playing career

Club

Meyler played his club hurling and football with the Our Lady's Island club in Wexford. When he moved to Cork in 1982 he joined the famous St. Finbarr's club on the south side of the city. He had much success with ‘the Barrs’, winning a grand total of eight county championship medals in both hurling and football. The highlight of his career with St. Finbarr's came in 1987 when he was captain of the club's football team. Although losing the county final to Imokilly, Meyler's side represented Cork in the provincial club championship. A 2-15 to 1-5 trouncing of Kilrossanty of Waterford in the final gave Meyler a Munster club title. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw 'the Barr's' take on Roscommon's Clann na nGael. In attrocious conditions the Cork side won the game by 0-10 to 0-7 and Meyler had the honour of accepring the cup and collecting a coveted All-Ireland club football medal. [cite book| first=Eoghan| last=Corry| title=The GAA Book of Lists| publisher=Hodder Headline Ireland| year=2005| id= | pages=p. 421] .

Inter-county

In 1973 Meyler began his inter-county career with the Wexford minor hurling team. He later played on the county’s under-21 side but had little success at either level. Meyler also played both hurling and football with the Wexford senior teams in the later 1970s and early 1980s but had little success. In 1983 he joined the Cork senior hurling team but remained on the subs bench for much of his tenure on Leeside. He won an All-Ireland medal with the county in 1986, when he was a substitute in the final against Galway. He retired from inter-county hurling in 1987.

Early coaching career

Kerry

In retirement from playing Meyler has maintained a keen interest in the game. He first tried his hand at management when he took charge of the Kerry senior hurling team in 1992. ["Hurling: The Revolution Years" p. 106] It was and still remains one of the most job thankless jobs in hurling, particularly in a county that is dominated by Gaelic football. The enormity of the task is best exemplified in the fact that only five players turned up to Meyler’s very first training session as manager. In spite of this he introduced a new training regime that bore some fruit. In his first few months in charge Kerry reached the quarter-final stages of the National Hurling League. A nine-point defeat by Tipperary was Kerry’s lot on that occasion, however, Tipp were made to work for the win. ["Hurling: The Revolution Years" p. 110] The first round of the 1993 Munster championship pitted Kerry against Waterford. While many people gave Kerry little chance Meyler’s side won the game by 4-13 to 3-12. ["Hurling: The Revolution Years" p. 111] It was Kerry’s first championship victory in sixty-seven years. The run of success came to an end in the next game as Tipp won by 4-21 to 2-9. Meyler remained as manager of the Kerry senior hurlers until 1997, however, in the meantime the team returned to type and failed to capture another significant victory in the championship.

Kilmoyley

After a number of seasons out of the spotlight Meyler returned to management in the early 2000s when he took over as boss of Kerry club side Kilmoyley. In 2001 his club reached the final of the county championship for the first time in over a decade. Ballyheigue provided the opposition on that occasion; however, it was Meyler’s side who claimed the victory. It was Kilmoyley’s first senior county title since 1971. In 2002 Meyler’s side were back in the final, this time with Lixnaw providing the opposition. Once again the victory went to Kilmoyley. Lixnaw were accounted for again in 2003 as Meyler’s side made in three county titles in-a-row. A remarkable fourth consecutive county title was garnered in 2004 as KIlmoyley defeated Causeway.

Cork

Meyler also served as a selector with the Cork senior inter-county team in the early 2000s. He became embroiled in something of a controversey in 2002, just prior to the Cork players' strike, when he became involved in a disagreement with All-Ireland winning captain Mark Landers. After a training session at Páirc Uí Chaoimh Meyler told Landers to 'have a good look around this place. It'll be the last time you'll see it.' Meyler didn't deny this statement, however, it was at odds with the view of Cork manager Bertie Óg Murphy. ["Hurling: the Revolution Years" p. 289-293] He resigned along with the rest of the management team shortly afterwards.

Managing Wexford

Meyler was confirmed as manager of the Wexford senior hurling team on 12 October 2006. [cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/sport/2006/1012/wexford.html|title=Meyler confirmed as new Wexford boss|publisher=Irish Examiner|date=2006-10-12|accessdate=2008-10-10] Other candidates that expressed an interest in the job included former Limerick and Kilkenny hurlers Pat Herbert and Willie O'Connor. His first season in charge got off to a good start as Wexford progressed through to the semi-final of the National Hurling League. The county's arch-rivals, Kilkenny, provided the opposition and trounced Meyler's team on a score line of 2-22 to 2-7. The subsequent Leinster Championship saw the two sides meeting again in the final. That game turned into another rout as 'the Cats' defeated Wexford by double scores - 2-24 to 1-12. The subsequent All-Ireland quarter-final saw Meyler having his best victory of the championship as Tipperary, the red-hot favourites, were beaten giving Wexford save passage into the All-Ireland semi-final. Once again, Kilkenny provided the opposition and handed out another ten-point drubbing.

Meyler's second season in charge saw Wexford have a tough time in the National League. They finished at the bottom of Division 1A, resulting in relegation to Division 2 for 2009. Wexford later formally protested against Cork's readmittance to the National League after failing to play their first two games. In the subsequent Leinster Championship Wexford gave an atrocious display against Dublin. In the first-half Meyler's side scored two quick goals, however, it took over thirty minutes for the team to score their first point. That game ended in a draw, however, Wexford went on to win the replay with another unconvincing performance. The Leinster final on July 6 saw Wexford taking on arch-rivals Kilkenny. The first half saw Wexford fight tooth and nail with 'the Cats' and they trailed by just two points at half-time. The second half saw Kilkenny emerge and score 2-4 in the first seven minutes to start a rout. The final score of 5-21 to 0-17 resulted in defeat again for Meyler's side. [cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/championship/2008/0706/kilkenny_wexford.html?gaa|title=Kilkenny 5-21 Wexford 0-17|publisher=RTÉ Sport|date=2008-07-06|accessdate=2008-09-21] Wexford's next game in the championship was an All-Ireland quarter-final meeting with Waterford. That game was a lot closer than the pundits predicted, however, Waterford still won the day by 2-19 to 3-15. Shortly after this defeat Meyler indicated that he wished to stay on as manager for a third season in 2009. In eraly October 2008, however, he was informed by the Wexford County Board that he was being relieved of his duties. Speculation has been rife since this announcement that a lcak of confidence by the players in Meyler's ability forced the county board to take this course of action. [cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/shocked-meyler-forced-out-after-wexford-hurling-squad-lsquolose-confidencersquo-in-manager-1492626.html|title=Meyler forced out...|publisher=Irish Independent|date=2008-10-08|accessdate=2008-10-10]

References

External links

* [http://www.hoganstand.com/Wexford/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=68070 Appointment of John Meyler as Wexford Manager]