Meyler targeting Munster Championship return for Kingdom

KERRY hurling boss John Meyler believes his side could compete in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship in two or three years.

The Kingdom secured promotion to NHL Division Two this season and impressed in their opening Christy Ring Cup tie away to Down on Saturday.

Now Meyler admits the county should be capable of rejoining the likes of Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford in the provincial championship.

Kerry last competed in the top tier in 2004 when they crashed to a 4-19 to 1-7 defeat to Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Meyler said: “We’ve achieved our target of moving up to Division Two, and hopefully we will have a good run in the Christy Ring.

“If things go according to plan, I’d say we’ll be good enough to take part in the Munster Senior Championship in two to three years’ time.

“We have a very young side, and to help us develop to a satisfactory extent, we need to have more of our lads playing in high-quality competitions like the (top-tier colleges’ third-level) Fitzgibbon Cup.

“If we could manage six or seven in this regard, it would be a tremendous boost. At the moment, we have only three fellas playing in the Fitzgibbon – (goalkeeper) John Brendan O’Halloran, with LIT, (wing-back) David Fitzelle with GMIT, and (half-forward) Darragh O’Connell with Mary Immaculate College.”

Kerry bid to maintain their perfect record in the Christy Ring Cup with victory over Westmeath in Tralee on Saturday.

Like Down, Westmeath also figured in NHL Division Two this season, and Meyler will treat them with the utmost respect. He said: “It’s going to be very difficult for us against Westmeath.The fact that we beat a Division Two side in Down means nothing. And I feel it will be a bonus for Westmeath that in the first round they had a very tough game against Derry which went to extra-time. So Westmeath will come to Tralee in a very confident frame of mind, and we’ll have to improve on our performance against Down to get the better of them.”