Colm Coyle (born 26 February 1963), is a former

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

er and former

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

from

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was manager of the senior Meath county team from September 2006 to July 2008, having previously played for the county.

Playing career

Coyle won a Leinster Minor Football Championship medal with Meath in 1980. He made his senior debut for Meath in the 1981/82 National League. He enjoyed much success play inter-county football in the eighty's & ninety's on the Meath teams managed by Sean Boylan. He was part of the Meath team which won the

Leinster Championship Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of I ...

in 1986, Meath's first since 1970. Coyle then emigrated to America thus being unavailable for Meath's successful Leinster championship defense in 1987. He returned to Ireland prior the All-Ireland semi-final and was a substitute as Meath won their first All-Ireland title in 1987 for twenty years. In 1988, when Meath retained the All-Ireland Colm played as a Half back in the All-Ireland final replay. In 1996, he won his third All-Ireland medal. In the final that year his late effort at a point fell short of the goals but after bouncing went over the bar for a point to earn Meath a replay. Early in that replay Coyle was sent off for his involvement in melee in which almost all players from both teams were involved. Meath went on to win. For Meath he played at various times in the full back line, half back line, half forward line & full forward line. He played club football for Seneschalstown. During his playing career he won three

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

medals (1987, 1988 & 1996), as well as five Leinster Senior Football Championship medals.

Managerial career

Eamonn Barry Eamonn Barry is a former Irish Gaelic football manager from County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to th ...

became coach of the Meath football team for 2006, as successor to the long-time manager Sean Boylan. However, Meath did not perform well in the

2006 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2006 Bank of Ireland All-Ireland Senior Football Championship began on Sunday 7 May 2006. The 2006 championship used the same "Qualifier" system that was used in 2005. Tyrone were the defending champions, but were knocked out relatively ea ...

. The County Board accordingly appointed Coyle in his place on 11 September 2006, with Tommy Dowd and Dudley Farrell as selectors. Barry's response was 'I'm not a bit surprised. I've been well aware of the situation for the past couple of months'. Coyle's reign started well, as Meath enjoyed success in the Championship. They were knocked out of the Leinster Championship by eventual champions

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. However, they went on to reach the

2007 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2007 Bank of Ireland All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, was a Gaelic football competition in Ireland, and was the most significant and prestigious competition in the sport held that year. It began on 13 May 2007, with the final game to ...

quarter-final through the Qualifiers, and notched up a notable victory over 2003 and 2005 champions Tyrone, who had won the

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is us ...

. Cork beat Meath in the semi-final by 1–16 to 0–9 in a game attended by only 38,000 people, but Coyle's team were regarded as having had a good year overall. Meath beat

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

by 20 points in an impressive start to the 2008 championship. However, they were knocked out of the

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (G ...

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N1 ...

. An emphatic defeat against

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

followed, and Coyle resigned. On 10 November 2008, Eamonn O'Brien, one of Sean Boylan's selectors, was confirmed as the new Meath football boss after a meeting with the county board.

References

Article on Hoganstand.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Coyle, Colm 1965 births Living people Gaelic football managers Meath inter-county Gaelic footballers Seneschalstown Gaelic footballers Winners of three All-Ireland medals (Gaelic football)