Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Hurling

“Fancy Dans… it really p***ed me off” — how Meyler’s Kerry beat Waterford in ’93

Meyler’s underage career, lining out for Wexford and Cork, playing alongside JBM, and leading Kerry to that famous championship win over Waterford in 1993

John Meyler talks about his underage career, lining out for Wexford and Cork, playing alongside Jimmy Barry Murphy with county and St Finbarr’s, and leading Kerry to that famous championship hurling win over Waterford.

Picture the scene: Waterford showed up to Walsh Park for their Munster championship opener in 1993 with the air of a side expecting to win with ease.

The Deise were high on the buzz of underage success, and John Meyler’s Kerry side were seen as an afterthought. In many ways, the home side’s complacency was well-founded.

Their minors had qualified for the 1992 All-Ireland final, while the Under-21s had gone one better by winning the biggest crown of all.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

The county expected, and before the Kerry game, the victorious players arrived in suits to have their photographs taken.

As Fergal Hartley explained to OurGame, the Kingdom players by comparison “showed up with their hurleys and their boots in plastic bags”.

“It’s a bit like Liverpool in the white suits,” says Meyler, comparing Waterford to the Reds that lost the FA Cup final to Manchester United in 1996.

“Fancy Dans,” is how the then Kerry boss described the Deise, adding “it really p***ed me off.”

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

“Everything went right that day. We got a 21-year free and DJ Leahy took it and mishit it straight to the back of the net.

“Tipperary and Cork and Kilkenny have their fair share of those over the years but that was a great day.

“Ned Horgan, who is a great character from Kilmoyley, he was down with a bus and there was about 25 people on the bus. I went onto the bus and thanked all 25 of them (after the game).

“Liam Cotter, who was vice chairman of the Kerry abroad and responsible for hurling, he was a character and told stories about the IRA and stuff like that — I don’t even know if they were true or not.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

“But I’ll never forget it, he sang the Rose of Tralee in the dressing room — it was a like a Joe McDonagh moment. There was no coverage of it but that probably adds to it.

“It was probably terrible hurling but the stories live on. It was incredible in the dressing-room. Tipp then in two weeks’ time up in Thurles!”

In part one of this interview with Meyler on his career, he talks about growing up in Tacumshane in Wexford, plauying with Our Lady’s Island and then St Finbarr’s of Cork, and sharing a dressing-room with hurling’s answer to Lionel Messi: Jimmy Barry Murphy.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to our newsletter

You May Also Like

Sports

The lads are back once again to talk all things GAA.

Sports

The lads are reflecting on a dramatic weekend of club action and discussing the latest across the world of GAA.

Sports

Another big live show as we preview the All-Ireland SHC club semi-finals and talk to some big names in the GAA.

Sports

Enjoy our latest offering and leave a comment below. 𝘈𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴 🎁 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗺...

Advertisement