Lorenzo Ignatius "Lory" Meagher (25 May 1899 – 17 May 1973) was an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder at senior level for the Kilkenny county team.
Born in Tullaroan, County Kilkenny, Meagher arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty-four when he first linked up with the Kilkenny senior team. He made his debut in the 1924 championship. Meagher went on to play a key part for more than a decade, and won three All-Ireland medals, eight Leinster medals and one National Hurling League medal. An All-Ireland runner-up on four occasions, Meagher also captained the team to All-Ireland victory in 1935.
Meagher represented the Leinster inter-provincial team at various times throughout his career, winning two Railway Cup medals in 1927 and 1933. At club level, he won five championship medals with Tullaroan.
Throughout his career, Meagher made 39 championship appearances for Kilkenny. His retirement came following Kilkenny's defeat by Tipperary in the 1937 championship.
His brothers, Frank, Willie and Henry, all played with distinction with Kilkenny.
Meagher has been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of hurling's greatest players, including as midfield partner to Jack Lynch on the Hurling Team of the Century in 1984 and the Hurling Team of the Millennium in 2000.
Playing career
Club
Meagher played his club hurling with Tullaroan and enjoyed much success during a lengthy career.
He made his club debut in 1919, in what was the delayed ending of the 1916 championship. The delay, a direct consequence of a period of political instability in Ireland, eventually led to the suspension of the championship for a number of years. Tullaroan contested that year's final, with Meagher lining out at midfield, however, a 5–2 to 2–3 score line after an earlier drawn game resulted in victory for Mooncoin.
By 1924, the championship had resumed on a regular basis and Tullaroan contested the decider once again. A comprehensive 4–4 to 2–2 defeat of Clonmanto gave Meagher his first championship medal.
Tullaroan and Meagher made it two-in-a-row in 1925, following a narrow 3–4 to 3–3 defeat of Dicksboro.
A period of decline followed, however, Tullaroan fought back to reach the championship decider once again in 1930. A 4–4 to 0–3 trouncing of senior hurling novices Urlingford gave Meagher a third championship medal.
Tullaroan surrendered their championship crown the following year, but returned to the decider again in 1933. A high-scoring 6–5 to 5–4 defeat of Carrickshock gave Meagher, who by now was captain of the team, a fourth championship medal.
Carrickshock stood in the way of a second successive championship for Tullaroan in 1934, however, they proved no match. A 6–6 to 1–5 victory gave Meagher his fifth and final championship medal and his second victory as captain.
Meagher's club career ended in much the same way in which it started, as a narrow 4–2 to 4–1 defeat by Mooncoin in the 1936 decider proved to be his final big outing with Tullaroan.
Inter-county
Meagher made his senior inter-county debut for Kilkenny in a 1–3 to 3–4 Leinster semi-final defeat by Dublin in 1924.
In 1925, Meagher lined out in his first provincial decider. Reigning champions Dublin provided the opposition and secured a 6–4 to 4–7 victory. A subsequent objection forced the result to be overturned, and Meagher collected his first Leinster medal as Kilkenny were awarded the title.
Meagher won a second Leinster medal, his first on the field of play, in 1926 as Offaly were accounted for by 3–8 to 1–4. On 24 October 1926, he lined out in his first All-Ireland decider, with his two brothers, Willie and Henry, also on the Kilkenny team to face Cork. At a snow-covered Croke Park, the first half was even enough with Cork holding an interval lead of one point, however, Kilkenny slumped in the second half, going down to a 4–6 to 2–0 defeat.
After tamely surrendering their Leinster crown to Dublin the following year, both sides met again in the provincial decider in 1929. Controversy and dissent dogged the game as the players from the Dicksboro club did not play as they disagreed with the selection committee's choice. The dispute caused a delay in taking the field. Kilkenny won the game by 3–5 to 2–6; however, Dublin objected on the grounds that Kilkenny were late taking the field. The referee reported that they were seventeen minutes late, but Dublin were also late. The final was declared null and void.