The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Hurlers in turmoil as Meyler banishes Boyle brothers
MARCH was a tumultuous month for Kerry hurling.
On the pitch they were struggling through their worst run of form since John Meyler became Kerry senior hurling manager for the second time and off it there was turmoil too. On Sunday, March 11 the Kingdom were given a hurling lesson by Carlow in Fitzgerald Stadium. In the second half that is. In the first they were competitive. They led at halftime on a scoreline of 1-10 to 0-8. The worry that their first round defeat at Mullingar generated was receeding.
Until that second half when Carlow assumed total control and Kerry faded and faded badly. Questions were being asked about their fitness. We wrote on this pages that the spectre of relegation was now in view and that was before we knew learned about the Boyles. What we learned was that Meyler had dropped three of the four Boyle brothers (Mikey, Liam and Padraig) off the Kerry hurling team for “a breach of discipline” – namely playing a game of soccer, or half a game of soccer as it turned out, in the days before the Carlow game.
We held the view that Meyler had gone too far. The Boyles probably shouldn’t have played that game of soccer, but at the same time dropping them was counterproductive. It generated more heat the light as there was headlines locally and nationally, with interviews with the brothers appearing in the national newspapers. It gave a very large hostage to fortune for Meyler. A victory over Wicklow eased Kerry’s relegation worries the following weekend – they won in Aughrim on a scoreline of 2-22 to 1-12, impressive by any man’s standards.
The Boyles – brother Aidan remained on the panel throughout the affair – were even back on the panel by the end of the month.
“We felt the best decision at this stage was to bring the three lads back in,” Meyler said.
“The focus has already switched to the Christy Ring... the priority now is the Christy Ring and really the only thing now is to retain that cup.”