Great player ruined by injury. https://twitter.com/Meehan_MJ/status/943575543416541185/photo/1
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DRhA9KHXUAAFUMW.jpg)
Always seemed likable and was lethal pre-injuries. Best of luck to him.
Told ye it was a sort of farewell/crowd pleaser putting him on long after Donegal had catipulated in the Qualifiers this year. He probably shouldn't have come back or indeed be let back because his ankle was never going to really improve but no one begrudged Meehan, of all players, giving it a go.
A special, special talent. His career and mismanagement of it should serve as a warning for future generations, but I somehow doubt it.
What a class act. Injury robbed us all of more special moments. We can still savour the moments he performed his magic.
Enjoy the retirement.
Class player, just a genius really. And a really nice statement above. Am lucky to have seen him, even if he broke our hearts at times!
A classy statement from a classy player. Such a shame he got unlucky with injuries. We saw enough of him to know he was a wizard of a player though.
Personally will never forget the performance with Jarlaths down in Limerick against Coláiste na Sceilige or the famous game in the monsoon against us in 2008.
Another good one hangs up the boots.
Happy retirement.
He was unlucky with his timing as well as the injuries.
The promise of 2005 was never fulfilled
Under-21 Football All-Ireland Final/Galway 6-5 Down 4-6: Galway's rediscovery of the Stockwell-Purcell era rests in the safe and capable hands of Mícheál Meehan and Seán Armstrong. The latest re-enactment of "Terrible Twins" flair saw off Down's brave challenge in a goal-packed roller-coaster All-Ireland under-21 football final in Mullingar on Saturday.
The Galway duo's contribution was huge and economics student Meehan, who is currently sitting exams, was voted man of the match. He shared six goals and three points with Armstrong in a stunning display of incisive scoring power.
The prolific Galway pair earned the plaudits of all, including Down manager Paddy O'Rourke who said: "They are classy forwards and I am certain we will see those two lads continue to rack up big tallies in senior competition. We had planned to keep the ball away from them but the big fella in the middle of the field (Barry Cullinane) clearly spoiled that plan."
The two Galway goal poachers will be given the chance to perform their talents in the senior championship away to New York next Sunday.
"I have an exam on Thursday," said Meehan, "and will fly out with the team on Friday.We have been scoring well throughout the championship but I'm delighted we managed to maintain our form in the final."
Meehan scored his opening goal after just 15 seconds. Team captain Alan Burke's incredible 70-yard solo run from his corner-back position before off-loading to Armstrong for goal number three looked a unique feat. Meehan's two goals within the first eight minutes meant that Down were chasing the game from an early stage but O'Rourke felt it should not have been that way. "We have a number of excellent free-takers who were off colour and we missed a penalty chance in the second half," he said.
Playing with the wind in the first half, Down recovered well to level the match with goals from Conor Laverty and Niall McArdle by the 28th minute.
Galway led by 3-3 to 2-3 at half-time and although Down had more than their share of possession against the wind in the second half they tended to dilly-dally with short passing and moves came unstuck against Galway's staunch defending.
Galway midfielders Gary Cullinane and Niall Coleman got great support with defenders Burke, Niall Coyne and Gary Sice and their manager Peter Ford was delighted that his side had attained full potential and 100 per cent commitment. He quipped with a smile: "Ten goals, you wouldn't see it in a soccer match."
GALWAY: M Killilea; A Burke, F Hanley, M Flannery; D Mullahy, N Coyne, G Sice; N Coleman, B Cullinane; B Faherty (0-1), D Dunleavy (0-1), F Breathnach; M Meehan (3-2), C Blake, S Armstrong (3-1, 0-1 free). Subs: J Murphy for Mullahy (36 mins), A Glynn for Coyne (56 mins).
DOWN: D Alder; E Henry, M Rooney, N McEvoy; D Neeson, J Colgan, D Cunningham; A Rogers, M McClean; C Laverty (1-2), A Carr (1-0), N McArdle (1-1, 0-1 free); M Poland (0-2 frees), J McGovern, J Brown. Subs: J Ireland (1-0) for Henry (37 mins), M Clarke (0-1) for McGovern (48 mins), M Miskelly for Brown (56 mins), J Petterson for McArdle (57 mins).
He was a special talent from a young age. While still a minor he was brilliant for the u21s in winning the AI in 2002.
He was only about to turn 26 when he suffered that ankle injury that effectively destroyed his career.
An absolute gentleman off the field also like his brother Declan.
Quote from: Ciarrai_thuaidh on December 21, 2017, 10:33:57 AM
A classy statement from a classy player. Such a shame he got unlucky with injuries. We saw enough of him to know he was a wizard of a player though.
Personally will never forget the performance with Jarlaths down in Limerick against Coláiste na Sceilige or the famous game in the monsoon against us in 2008.
Same as that. A great player, who was very unfortunate with injuries, but he leaves as a very highly regarded player, and best of luck to him.
He hit the most sensational goal from a free kick in croke park against cork one year when they had all 15 players on the line. As fine a player as you could ever hope to see.
Quote from: rrhf on December 21, 2017, 11:19:00 AM
He hit the most sensational goal from a free kick in croke park against cork one year when they had all 15 players on the line. As fine a player as you could ever hope to see.
Yep that was in 2013 against Cork.
Quote from: magpie seanie on December 21, 2017, 10:25:09 AM
Class player, just a genius really. And a really nice statement above. Am lucky to have seen him, even if he broke our hearts at times!
Indeed, was superb against us in Salthill in the
replay refixture in 2006. Helped get them over the line in the 2005 U21 when we pushed them hard in Connacht, and went on to win it out.
Great talent. Swatted Killererin aside in the 2003 county final in Pearse stadium. A shame he was too young for the 98-01 era; instead he had to play with some very moderate Galway teams unworthy of his ability.
Quote from: rrhf on December 21, 2017, 11:19:00 AM
He hit the most sensational goal from a free kick in croke park against cork one year when they had all 15 players on the line. As fine a player as you could ever hope to see.
https://youtu.be/Actk2fAYWys
A truly great player and very sound fella to boot. Very sad how injuries (one bad one in particular) robbed him of his prime years. Was unlucky to come around just a couple years after a great Galway side began to break up. Had he been born a few years earlier he would have got an All-Ireland medal for himself in 01. Although I'm sure the club one he has from 04 is just as important to him.
Like many of my brethren! Will retire without the Senior AI medal which always takes away in the GAA world from how great a player he was!
Was surprised to see him have a go last year! Probably wanted to confirm any doubt in his head. And why not?
John Divilly obviously a better players than Meehan so! ::)
Someone would want to tell Dermot Earley he isn't fit to lick Ray Silke's boots so Bunker.
I think Bunker is being sarcastic. A lot of Mayo lads are being run down because they 'don't have a medal'.
John O'Mahony has described Michael Meehan as a "once in a lifetime" player following the Galway marksman's retirement.
Meehan finally drew a line under his stop-start inter-county career earlier this week having made a surprise comeback to the Galway panel earlier this year.
He made only one appearance off the bench in a qualifier win over Donegal having not been involved for three years prior to that as a serious ankle injury sustained in 2010, when he was just 26, wrecked the latter part of his career.
O'Mahony was Galway manager when Meehan came into the senior panel for the 2003 season and he was also in charge of the under-21 side that claimed All-Ireland honours the year before with the Caltra man, just 18 at the time, the star turn.
He first came to national attention earlier in 2002 when starring for St Jarlath's, Tuam in an epic All-Ireland colleges semi-final in which they beat Jack O'Connor's Colaiste na Sceilge in a replay after extra time.
O'Mahony recalled: "It was basically a head-to-head between Declan O'Sullivan for Colaiste na Sceilge and Michael Meehan for Jarlath's.
"Michael Meehan was absolutely superb in that. That announced his arrival really and he won the All-Ireland under-21 title in 2002 as an 18-year-old, corner-forward.
"It was basically about trying to ease him in then into the senior squad. We didn't want to rush it too much but he was such a good player that you needed to get him involved very quickly.
"After we won that under-21 All-Ireland in October 2002, he was straight in then. I suppose he was only after doing the Leaving that summer.
"He was in at the earliest opportunity really but he was one of those players that come along once in a lifetime.
"Again, like everything that has happened since with the lack of success, his injury issues, if Michael Meehan had come through his career uninjured Galway would have won an awful lot more than they have in those years."
Sadly, as O'Mahony's comments reflect, it's near impossible to celebrate Meehan's talent without expressing regret that his injury problems, and Galway's falling status, meant that it wasn't exposed to a wider audience on a more regular basis.
"He didn't get the opportunity because of the injuries really and I suppose Galway were away from the top table but one of the reasons that they were away from the top table a little bit was because of injuries in his case.
"I remember I had left Galway at the time but the 2005 All-Ireland under-21 final against Down in Cusack Park in Mullingar, six goals between himself and Sean Armstrong.
"That day I remember walking out of Cusack Park saying, 'This is where the future is now'.
"At that stage it was only four years from Galway having won a senior All-Ireland and walking out that day if somebody said you won't have another one before 2017, you'd say that'd be wrong.
"I would have been hugely optimistic on that occasion but for Michael on a personal level it has been frustrating for him.
"That's the way it's seen and that's the reality of it, that his progress was halted by those horrific injuries over the years.
"The big disappointment for everybody was that he had an injury-ravaged career but he has been a superb talent.
"He certainly was one of the best colleges players that I ever saw and was developing into one of the best county players and showed flashes of it over the years.
"He'll be fondly remembered as one of the great skilful forwards that everyone so badly needs."
Former Galway captain Finian Hanley also retired from inter county football yesterday, bringing down the curtain on his 15-year career.
https://www.facebook.com/mauricewalshphotography/videos/1377683899019204/?hc_ref=ARRKsr5XrVDWghpB2bhGPI7TT1eT8PEplDLFXTtaRFSlLEBrPiGb1FOhoqXlvdN0J-M
Meehan scored 14-112(154) in 42 senior championship games. Despite all the injuries had a decent career winning AI club title with Caltra, 2 u21 with Galway and a Sigerson Cup with NUIG.