Tributes to pioneering Omagh osteopath

TRIBUTES have been paid after the death of Omagh man, Jimmy Meyler, whose work in spearheading the initial development of natural health techniques locally came after a varied and impressive sporting career.

Mr Meyler, from Cannonhill, died on Tuesday at the age of 75. During his lifetime, he was a talented Irish dancer in his youth, represented Omagh St Enda’s and Omagh Town FC and was a talented golfer and runner.

He taught for 11 years at St Patrick’s High School in the town and was closely involved in the Omagh Boys and Girls Club. But, in the early 1980s, he embarked on a career as an osteopath which would see him help to transform the lives of the hundreds of people until his retirement just two years ago.

Lifelong friend, Paddy McMahon, said Mr Meyler was someone who would live long in the memories of so many.

“Jimmy Meyler was a sportsman and mentor par-excellence,” he said.

“A conversation with him was always and invariably enlightening. He enjoyed the companionship of his peers.

“In his role with Omagh Boys and Girls Club in the 1970s, he organised a wide range of activities for the young people in the town. He helped so many young people to enjoy and appreciate the joys and benefits of sport and physical activity.

“I played with Jimmy for St Enda’s teams of the 1970s.

“He was a half-forward and a stylish and athletic player, who was on the cusp of joining the Tyrone team.

“He was a man ahead of his time in the treatment of sports injuries. Jimmy helped so many footballers in their rehab and was a student of the psychology of sport who rescued and prolonged so many careers.”

Mr Meyler will perhaps be best remembered for his groundbreaking role as an osteopath. He originally managed Broderick’s Health and Fitness Studio, before travelling to England to gain his osteopathic qualification.

He wrote a column for the UlsterHerald for almost two decades, and recounted in an interview marking his retirement last year how his healing methods had gone beyond traditional treatments.

“As a result of many different experiences, I gradually realised that the human body is more than a bag of bones, muscles and nerves… everything is interconnected,” he said.

Mr Meyler’s funeral will take place tomorrow (Friday) at 10am in the Sacred Heart Church in Omagh, with burial afterwards in St Mary’s Cemetery, Drumragh.

He is survived by his wife of almost 50 years, Clare, and children Danielle, Darren and Caroline and grandchildren Darcy, Maelle, Conal, Grayson, Cael, Norah and Vaughan.