Schools GAA: Michael Meehan sparking St Jarlath’s revival as tradition dies hard

In the early 2000s few would have foreseen that either Michael Meehan or St Jarlath’s College would today be so far from the dominant footballing forces that lit up the Hogan Cup in 2002.

The excitement that surrounded Meehan’s emergence during those early years gave no hint of the possibility that his career would be blighted and ultimately ended by injuries before he had even turned 30.

Galway and gaelic football as a whole eagerly anticipated the next Pádraic Joyce, Michael Donnellan or Sean Purcell to emerge from the county, or rather the footballing nursery of St Jarlath’s, obliterating defences nationwide just as he had done up to then.

As for the school themselves, following that Meehan-inspired, record 12th Hogan Cup, few would have considered that 13 years later their wait for the next title would stretch on.

Ceased the option

Today Meehan is back where it all began, teaching, managing and helping St Jarlath’s adapt to a very different Hogan Cup landscape, made all the harder for them since 2006 when they ended the option for pupils to board in the school.

He’s also coming to terms with all that free time available to him since his decision to hang up the boots back in March. In his third year teaching maths in the school, Meehan is also managing the school’s junior footballers, having moved up from managing the first years for the previous two years.

“It definitely helps,” he says. “It helps your mind and would keep you occupied, you’re involved in it, thinking about the game, working things out, planning, so you’re still a part of it.

“I’m lucky enough to have been on the last team to have won the Hogan Cup in the school, and I’m back now. Football is a massive thing for the vast majority of students in St Jarlath’s. Walking into the school for the first time they have great designs on being the next Pádraic Joyce or Derek Savage or whoever it is. But first and foremost, you are a teacher and the rest is outside of that.”

The corridors in St Jarlath’s may still be coated with reminders of years gone by, and no doubt that ambition remains for the young students who attend. Yet the reality is the school no longer dominates the province like it once did; it no longer carries the very best minors from Galway, Mayo, often Roscommon, Sligo and even beyond.

“There’ve been big changes definitely in the landscape for colleges football, and certainly for St Jarlath’s, which had been a boarding school, and likewise for other schools which are no longer boarding schools.

“You’re probably not as strong because you’re missing those couple of players each year, especially in fifth year and Leaving Cert that would be a big addition to any team.

“There was always the tradition there for people to come to St Jarlath’s who were big into their football and wanted to give it a right go, so the school is at a loss without them.

“You have the new schools coming to the fore and a lot of the traditional schools have slipped down and there are schools emerging like St Attractas of Sligo.

Bypassing

“We still have the odd student who would come down from outside the catchment area, in the past especially from Claremorris or places in around Galway city, and they’re bypassing schools that are a lot closer to them – but again it certainly is a lot harder as a day student to do that now.”

Jarlath’s have won 48 of the 87 senior Connacht titles, yet in recent times it’s been the likes of St Gerald’s College Castlebar who have been leading the way in the province. Perhaps coincidentally, or perhaps not, Galway have won just one provincial minor title and one senior title since Jarlath’s became solely a day school.

“I don’t know for sure to be honest whether Galway did or didn’t rely on the school to help in its development of players, but obviously you would think it would be good for Galway if St Jarlath’s are successful.”

Galway have won 25 minor provincial titles and 14 of those saw St Jarlath’s winning the Connacht senior title in the same year.

“Galway is such a big county though and without the boarding now there shouldn’t be that burden [to be a feeding ground for the county] as you’re now just talking about being responsible for Tuam and the greater area around it. So if Jarlath’s are successful or not, Galway should be able to operate outside of that – although it probably wasn’t the case in the past.”

Meehan’s own Hogan Cup-winning team in 2002 was a perfect example of how the school’s success filtered into the county set-up. Three years later a number of the same players, the likes of Alan Burke and Niall Coleman, were central in Galway winning the under-21 All-Ireland.

“I played three years’ senior colleges, with the likes of James Kavanagh from Kildare who played for Galway last year, Gary Sice, Damien Dunleavy, Niall Coleman, a lot of lads who went on with Galway.”

Not often do semi-finals overshadow All-Ireland finals but that 2002 team’s semi-final extra-time replay victory over Coláiste na Sceilge was one of the greatest ever schools matches – a shootout between two of the games soon-to-be stars, Meehan and Declan O’Sullivan. Unfortunately, both are now retired.

“Both games went to extra-time, they were incredibly even matches and it was cruel for anyone to have lost given the effort and the football that was played.

Shackle him

“Declan O’Sullivan was their main player and he was excellent, as he went on to be for Kerry – he played his football between the half and full forward lines as he did for the next 10 or 12 years and we tried out a lot of lads to try and shackle him.”

O’Sullivan, of course, joined Meehan in retiring through injury late last year, although in the Galway man’s case he hasn’t left the door entirely closed.

“We were under a bit of pressure with the club [Caltra] last summer so I came back later into it and togged out for a few games, but it was limited enough.”

Of course, every Galway and genuine GAA fan will cling to any hint of a return but at this point Meehan is no closer to knowing if or when that return might happen.

The door still isn’t closed, such is his passion for the game, but for now we’ll have to be content that the country’s most famous GAA nursery is in safe hands.

“It’s very unlikely I’ll be doing anything this year. I had a knee operation a month ago to clear up a problem there and I just need to get that right and see.

“Of course, I still think about it but I’m not that concerned right now either. I’m just getting on with it and whatever will happen will happen.”

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