‘It was quite emotional, especially after seeing my mum and dad' – Tearful Conor Meyler makes Tyrone return after 23 months
Two years after representing Tyrone against Kerry in the All-Ireland quarter-final, an 'emotional' Conor Meyler finally pulled on the county jersey again, as he helped his side cruise past Cavan to top Group 3 in the All-Ireland series on Sunday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
42 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Tipp braced for 'very dangerous' Galway
All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final: Laois 0-18 Tipperary 3-32 BEWARE the lessons of history, says Liam Cahill, as Tipp march on to an All-Ireland quarter-final against Galway. Two years ago, the Premier inflicted a record haul of 7-38 on Offaly in this fixture. They could've come closer to that mark against Laois on Saturday, but for the crossbar, post, and Cathal Dunne denying them further green flags. Back in 2023, Cahill's high-flying side were brought crashing back to earth by Galway within a week. Indeed, the Blue and Gold have lost four of their last five championship meetings with the Tribesmen, plus a league final. 'Galway are a really, really dangerous opposition,' Cahill emphasised. 'Historically, with really strong Tipperary teams down the years, they've caused us great difficulty. We will not be going into this game with our eyes half-closed or not ready for what's coming. We know what's going to come from Galway. 'They will be very sore after the Leinster final. They'll feel they only hurled for 15 minutes, maybe less, and could have got something out of the game. 'So they're a very, very dangerous opposition for us.' After surviving this preliminary quarter-final 'injury-free', the next week will be centred around 'freshening up' bodies to avoid a repeat. Eoghan Connolly's absence was precautionary due to a 'soft tissue injury'. He was named among Tipp's three stand-by players in Portlaoise. Jake Morris, Noel McGrath, and Conor Stakelum were not called from the bench as they, too, got a day off. In their absence, Jason Forde bagged 2-5, Darragh McCarthy tallied 0-9, while Sam O'Farrell netted his first Tipp goal and assisted another. Yet, Willie Connors was the standout performer, clipping 0-5 from midfield. They had 12 different scorers in total. After this non-event fixture, both managers reached for the word 'application' in the first sentence of their post-match interviews to allocate praise. In the words of John Giles, they took the game on its merits. It was over just beyond the four-minute mark, by which time Tipp had rattled an unanswered 1-5. They took their foot off the gas, and Laois kept within one point for the remainder of the half to trail 1-18 to 0-12 at midway. 'It was always going to be tough to react and respond considering the six-day turnaround and everything that goes with losing a final,' said Tommy Fitzgerald, still processing the fresh wound of their Joe McDonagh defeat. 'It was a big, big ask. A fresh Tipp team after being off for four weeks. It's a bit of a… maybe today isn't the day to speak about my opinions on that particular fixture. It is what it is. 'The boys came in Tuesday night, and we had a recovery session. We weren't even able to train, to be honest with you.' Tipp had 26 shots in either half, mining 2-14 in the second, while twice belting the woodwork. A flagging Laois struck 0-6 in reply for a 23-point margin of defeat. Like the first half, Tipp did their best work in the opening four minutes. With Cahill's corrections still fresh, they took care of business with goals from O'Farrell and Forde. That presented Tipp with the opportunity to rest some players and trial others. Robert Doyle, Andrew Ormond, Ronan Maher, Craig Morgan, and McCarthy were called ashore. In came Johnny Ryan, Peter McGarry, Brian McGrath, and Joe Fogarty for their first championship involvements of 2025. For former football panellist McGarry, it marked his first senior appearance in the small-ball code. He put his hand up the highest for further minutes. Showing impressive pace and passing, the St Mary's prospect teed up points for Alan Tynan and John McGrath before slotting one of his own. In between, he came close to a debut goal only to crack the post. 'We're still keeping one eye on making sure that we're unearthing as many players as we can,' noted Cahill. John McGrath, who smacked the crossbar, Fogarty, and Oisín O'Donoghue also came close to green flags. Earlier, keeper Dunne had denied McCarthy and produced a trademark double save to foil Forde and John McGrath. Laois did raise 40 shots at the posts, but converted just 45%. They ended with 17 wides. Free-taker Tomás Keyes matched McCarthy's 0-9 tally, and midfielder Paddy Purcell came within one point of Connors' mark, shooting 0-4. Rhys Shelly had one save to make, from Keyes, in order to ensure Tipp's first championship clean sheet in 12 attempts. 'The first step was just to give fellas a bit of time back,' said Cahill of their approach to the four-week layoff since securing Munster progression. 'A week break to get back into the swing of things and just come down from the exertions of a really intense Munster Championship. A number of players got County League action in and got back in among their own at home. Then, we ramped it up over the last two weeks. 'We've got a good block of training in, and it's a case now of really freshening up for Galway.' Scorers for Laois: T Keyes (0-9, 6 frees); P Purcell (0-4); D Hartnett, P Delaney, J Walshe, J Keyes, A Dunphy (0-1 each). Scorers for Tipperary: J Forde (2-5, 0-2 frees); D McCarthy (0-9, 6 frees, 1 65); W Connors (0-5); S O'Farrell (1-1); A Ormond, J McGrath (0-3 each); R Doyle, J Caesar, A Tynan, J Fogarty, P McGarry, O O'Donoghue (0-1 each). LAOIS: C Dunne; C Comerford, P Delaney, D Hartnett; R Mullaney, L Cleere, J Walshe; D Dooley, P Purcell; FC Fennell, T Keyes, A Corby; M Dowling, B Conroy, J Keyes. Subs: T Cuddy for Delaney (35, inj), J Lennon for Corby (49), A Dunphy for Dowling (51), P Dunne for Mullaney (57), M Phelan for Walshe (64). TIPPERARY: R Shelly; R Doyle, B O'Mara, M Breen; S Kennedy, C Morgan, R Maher; J Caesar, W Connors; A Tynan, A Ormond, S O'Farrell; J Forde, J McGrath, D McCarthy. Subs: J Ryan for Doyle (h-t), O O'Donoghue for Ormond (47), P McGarry for Maher (47), B McGrath for Morgan (54), J Fogarty for McCarthy (55). Referee: C Mooney (Dublin).
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Christy O'Connor: Close encounters of the championship kind
It can't be any other way with Armagh and Galway BEFORE last year's All-Ireland final, all the betting companies and top GAA Performance Analysts were on the same predictive page. This is exclusive subscriber content. Already a subscriber? Sign in Subscribe to access all of the Irish Examiner. Annual €120€60 Best value Monthly €10€4 / month Unlimited access. Subscriber content. Daily ePaper. Additional benefits.
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Goalfest victory over Wexford sets up historic day for Limerick footballers
Tailteann Cup quarter-final: Limerick 4-21 (4-2-17) Wexford 2-19 (2-6-7) Prior to March 29, the Limerick footballers had not set foot in Croke Park in just under three years. The gap to the most recent visit before that was nine years, give or take a week. Eighty-five days after their Division 3 League success over the same opponents bettered here, the Limerick footballers will step back out onto the Croker sod next Sunday. There'll be history in that step. The first Limerick football team to visit GAA HQ twice in the same year. The last step to securing history was more harum-scarum than hardship. Once Danny Neville immediately answered Mark Rossiter's goal on 48 minutes to restore Limerick's four-point lead, their ongoing numerical advantage on account of Seán Ryan's black card and the strong wind behind them meant no other outcome bar Limerick again turning the bus for Croker was conceivable. This fourth championship win in succession is also believed to be a Limerick football first. This fourth win in succession has secured a first championship appearance on Jones Road since the 2011 All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Kerry. Their dancing partner will be one of Fermanagh, Kildare, and Wicklow. All four are first-time Tailteann Cup semi-finalists. But irrespective of how next Sunday pans out for Jimmy Lee's side, this 2025 season has already exceeded external expectations and reclaimed the backward steps of a 2024 annus horribilis where they lost 10 of their 13 outings, suffered relegation to the League's basement tier, and exited the championship 17 points adrift of Sligo. This still ongoing campaign is unrecognisable by comparison. Since Wexford bettered them on February 2, they've recorded nine victories and a draw, and lost only once, that to Cork in the Munster quarter-final. According to Lee, the Round 6 League stalemate away to Wicklow on March 16 stands as their turning point. A rescued point that kept them ahead of their hosts in the table and in possession of a promotion berth. 'Hats off to the lads. They've shown a lot of courage, resilience, and character throughout. We've built that character since... I go back to that Wicklow game always. That is what made it. That was the start of it. 'Fierce happy for the lads that they are achieving their goals. We set a KPI of getting back to Croke Park and that box is ticked. They deserve this.' A strange and enjoyable first half. Wexford, with a strong wind, powered five clear inside five minutes. They then fell six behind, only to wipe out that gap for a 3-8 to 1-14 interval stalemate. The visitors won the first four Limerick restarts. The latter three were promptly returned between the posts by Jack Higgins, Seán Nolan and Páiric Hughes. Limerick's response was to wrestle back control of their own kickout, take control also of the Wexford kickout, post 1-6 without reply in the process, and hold Wexford scoreless for an entire quarter of an hour. Their opening goal on 16 minutes involved Danny Neville taking advantage of a slip to himself slip inside the cover, the offload to Cillian Fahy was palmed home. Neville was provider turned finisher for their second. Fahy bagged his second and Limerick's third in a shifting 10-minute spell. An 11-point swing, Limerick now six in front. Wexford's closing five minutes was as productive as their opening five. Seán Nolan found the net. His subsequent two-point equaliser arrived 17 seconds shy of the hooter. It represented Wexford's fifth orange flag of the half. In the 25 minutes between their busy bookending of the half, all they had for sustenance was Niall Hughes and Mark Rossiter kicks from the beyond the arc. Another orange flag threw in the second half, James Naughton supplying Limerick's first. Their second orange flag pulled the curtain down. Goalkeeper Josh Ryan, far from home, capped the day and continued a restorative season when coming forward for an audacious boomer. To-ing, fro-ing, six green flags, eight more in orange, and a not insignificant piece of history at the end of it all. Infrequent Croker callers no more. Scorers for Limerick: J Naughton (0-9, 0-3 frees, tp free); D Neville (2-2); C Fahy (2-0); E Rigter (0-3); J Ryan (tp), P Maher (0-2 each); M McCarthy, D O'Hagan, R Childs (0-1 each). Scorers for Wexford: S Nolan (1-7, 2 tp, 0-2 frees); M Rossiter (1-3, tp); N Hughes (0-4, 2 tp); J Higgins (0-3, tp); E Porter, P Hughes (0-1 each). LIMERICK: J Ryan; J Hassett, D O'Doherty, M McCarthy; P Maher, I Corbett, T McCarthy; T Childs, D O'Hagan; J Naughton, E Rigter, C Fahy; P Nash, D Neville, K Ryan. SUBS: T Ó Siochrú for McCarthy (two mins, temporary); R Childs for O'Hagan (50); D Murray for T Childs, R O'Brien for Neville (both 59); C Ó Duinn for Ó Siochrú (65); A Meade for Maher (68). WEXFORD: D Brooks; E Porter, G Sheehan, M Furlong; P Hughes, G Malone, D Furlong; L Coleman, N Hughes; M Kinsella, J Higgins, M Rossiter; S Nolan, R Brooks, B Brosnan. SUBS: S Ryan for R Brooks, K O'Grady for Brosnan (both HT); R Martin for Kinsella, C Walsh for D Furlong (both 59); C Kehoe for Malone (64). REFEREE: B Griffin (Kerry).
