Club comes first for Meyler
Tacumshane native was ‘blessed to join the ’Barr’s’
WITH THE G.A.A. outlining its roadmap to return to training and games, former Wexford and Cork Senior hurling manager, John Meyler, is fully supportive of the decision to give club precedence over inter-county.
Meyler is pleased to see the club game will be the first to return when coronavirus restrictions are lifted, as he believes it will be easier to control.
The G.A.A. has committed to beginning with club action from July 31, and Meyler is in favour of that approach, although he admitted there may be many stumbling blocks along the way.
‘It is important, as an organisation, that club activity takes precedence. If it had to be one or the other, club or inter-county, we should be making sure we build back up from the club,’ he said.
‘Club would be easier to manage. There would be the local setting, there would be people such as the Chairman and Secretary there to manage it, and with the help of a committee they would be able to impose the necessary control.
‘Also there would not be massive crowds which would make for easier control, while by starting with the club games they will be able to implement the necessary settings, see what is right or wrong, and be able to build on everything from there,’ he said.
‘The club is a much smaller basis to work with, much easier to handle, while it would enable those responsible to learn from the positives and negatives. Then they would be ready to take it up to the next level, that is inter-county.’
Meyler is not in favour of playing games without spectators. ‘You cannot play hurling behind closed doors. It’s a game that has to be played in front of spectators. Hurling is a game of skill and passion and needs spectator support.
‘Look, if the virus is contained, and it looks quite positive at the moment, and proper protocols are in place, such as proper sanitisation, signage and proper discipline maintained, I don’t see a problem. On social distancing, I believe that will be rectified in time for the games to return.
‘This is a virus but one cannot wait for a vaccine. There is no vaccine for the HIV virus and things moved along. We have got to take the next step. Keep going, keep working, maintain our discipline, and hopefully everything will work out.’
John Meyler has enjoyed a chequered career, as a player, coach and manager.
Born in 1956 and a native of Tacumshane near Our Lady’s Island, he played inter-county both for his native Wexford and Cork. His inter-county career began in 1973 as a member of the Wexford Minor hurling team.
Over the course of the next decade he lined out at Minor, Under-21 and Senior levels as a dual player.
In 1983 he joined the Cork Senior hurling team where he enjoyed his greatest success. As a substitute he won Munster and All-Ireland medals in 1986, while he also won an Oireachtas medal on the field of play.
On retirement, Meyler became involved in coaching and team management. A two-time manager of the Kerry Senior hurling team, including the famous day in 1993 when they shocked Waterford in the Munster championship, he also served as Wexford and Carlow Senior hurling boss.
After playing his early club hurling with Our Lady’s Island, and winning a county Senior football medal with Wexford District in 1977, Meyler moved to Cork where he joined the famous St. Finbarr’s club on the southside of the city.
He enjoyed considerable success with the Barr’s, winning the grand total of eight county championship medals between hurling and football.
The highlight of his career came in 1987 when he was captain of the Barr’s football team which won the All-Ireland club title, while he was a member of the club hurling side which lost the 1981 All-Ireland final to Ballyhale Shamrocks, a team containing the seven Fennelly brothers.
‘During that time the Barr’s had an incredible team, it was like an inter-county team. It contained an incredible string of players.
‘I was blessed to join the Barr’s, and sometimes in life things happen for the better. This is an incredible club and I bought into their culture and tradition,’ Meyler said.
‘It was an incredible honour for me to have been asked to captain the Senior football side, a side that contained an array of top-class players.
‘Without a doubt, to captain such a side to the All-Ireland win was incredible. It will live with me for the rest of my life.
‘Coming from a Junior club, Our Lady’s Island, to become involved with a club like the Barr’s and its quality players was a huge step up for me. I just worked with some incredible coaches, and built my career from there.
‘I will always remember winning that Wexford Senior football medal with Wexford District. It was the perfect send-off for me to the Barr’s.’
Meyler is one of the most experienced managers in the game, and his passion took him to Kerry on two separate occasions, coaching them to Christy Ring Cup success, while he also coached their Under-21 side to All-Ireland ‘B’ glory.
He also brought all his experience to club sides such as Kilmoyley, whom he led to a first Kerry Senior hurling title for 30 years in 2001, retaining the title in 2002.
They made it three-in-a-row the following year, and then garnered a fourth successive crown in 2004, the first time in their club’s history that they had achieved this feat.
In 2009, back for another stint with Kilmoyley, he trained the club’s Minor hurling team to win the county title.
He has also coached Ballinhassig and Courcey Rovers in Cork, managing both sides to win Premier Intermediate hurling championships.
Now his next club journey takes him back to his native Model county where he takes charge of reigning county Senior hurling champions, St. Martin’s, this year.
Having coached Cork sides in Under-15, Minor and Under-21, he eventually joined the Senior hurling management set-up.
Having won the Munster Under-21 title in 2017, and with eleven of those players moving up to Senior, he became involved with Senior management in 2018 and 2019, having won Munster in 2017 and 2018.
Looking back on his management role with the Cork Senior hurlers, he believes they were unlucky not to have won an All-Ireland.
‘Six points up against Limerick [in 2018], with ten minutes remaining we were reeled in. Small margins win games.
‘Look at Nickie Quaid’s block on Seamus Harnedy. A goal would have put us in the final. But it just shows what small margins can do.
‘Look at Wexford last year. Five points up, an extra man, they were reeled in late in the game and beaten by Tipperary.
‘The speed of the game is now so high that more opportunities will present even late on. I saw that with Limerick against Cork, and Wexford last year losing to Tipperary. The ball is much lighter, the players much fitter, so the game is travelling all the time.
‘The ball now holds its shape much better, players are always clamouring for new balls in training, I would say you could count over one hundred balls in operation at training sessions over a short period. The ball is making a huge difference.
‘I was at a Wexford/Kilkenny game in Wexford Park. Kilkenny had a strong wind and Eoin Murphy was dropping puck-outs down on the Wexford square. That’s an example of the difference the present day ball makes.’
Meyler recalled one of his great managerial accomplishments was his Kerry side’s 1993 Munster championship victory over Waterford by 4-13 to 2-12, their first Senior championship victory in 67 years.
‘Everything went right for us that day, even a late mis-hit free ended in the net. It was one of those great days for the underdog.’
Meyler went on to take up the Wexford manager’s role in late 2006, a journey that ended in bitter disappointment for him.
His first season in charge saw Wexford progress through to the league semi-final where they lost out to arch-rivals Kilkenny. The subsequent Leinster final saw them once again beaten by Kilkenny, but the All-Ireland quarter-final saw him achieve his best result, defeating red-hot favourites Tipperary, before losing the All-Ireland semi-final to the Cats who were practically unbeatable at the time.
The following year, 2008, Wexford defeated Dublin in a Leinster championship replay, with Kilkenny once again beating them in the provincial final. They came up against Waterford in the quarter-final in Thurles, only to lose out by one point.
Not long after this defeat, Wexford relieved Meyler of his duties, much to the annoyance of a lot of supporters in the county.
Following the announcement of the decision, speculation was rife that a lack of confidence by the players in Meyler’s ability forced the County Board to take their course of action.
Meyler was met in Dungarvan by two officials, Ger Doyle, then Chairman, and Margaret Doyle, then Secretary, where he was informed that he was being removed from his managerial role (see opposite page).
It was a decision that led to a bitter County Board meeting, and a three-year period where the only championship wins recorded by his successor as manager, Colm Bonnar, were against Offaly and Antrim, with losses to Dublin, Limerick (twice), Clare, Galway, Tipperary and Kilkenny.
SEE OPPOSITE PAGE
You cannot play hurling behind closed doors. It is a game that has to be played in front of spectators