Meyler admits leaving home in Cork at the age of 19 to join Sunderland back in 2008 forced him to grow up quickly.

Now starring for Hull City, Meyler said: “I’m very grateful to Sunderland because they gave me the opportunity to come to England and to further my career.

“I was out shopping with my buddies. My mum asked me to go and get a few things and I got a phone call off a lady who used to be Roy Keane’s secretary at Sunderland. “She said: ‘The manager would like you to come over and it’s a one-way ticket.’ The rest is history.

“I’ll never forget going over and staying in a hotel because my Dad left a note saying this was all I’d ever dreamed of, you only get one chance, and he didn’t want to see me back in Cork in three years wondering what might’ve been. That was it. I’ve kicked on from there.

“I made my debut on December 28 2010 playing Blackburn away. Niall Quinn (former Sunderland chairman) had actually rung my father and said ‘David’s starting tomorrow.’ I had no idea. I’d come through a fantastic reserve team at the time with Jordan Henderson, Jack Colback, Martyn Waghorn. A couple of them were on the bench and then in a team meeting when the team was put up, they were nudging me saying ‘Jeez, you’re starting!’ “My Mum, Dad and sister all knew but I didn’t. That was definitely the highlight.”