College and amateur Meara was raised in
Yonkers, New York and attended
Fordham Preparatory School before enrolling at
Fordham University in 2008. He also trained with
Reading of England with their youth academies in July 2007 and February 2008. While at Fordham he made 74 appearances and had 31 clean sheets. His 31 shutouts are a school record. In total, Meara owned nine Fordham University goal keeper records including career games in goal, minutes played, goal against average in a career (0.87) and a single season (0.65 in 2011) and save percentage in a single season (.862 in 2011). In 2010 Meara was named team captain for the Rams. Meara was named All-Atlantic Ten three times before earning conference Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2011. During the 2009 season, Meara also played for the
Long Island Rough Riders of the
USL Premier Development League. In 2010, he joined
Jersey Express and was voted the league's goalkeeper of the year as he recorded 8 clean sheets in 12 appearances during the
2010 PDL season. In two years with Jersey Express, he made 28 appearances for the club.
Professional Meara was drafted 31st overall by
New York Red Bulls in the
2012 MLS SuperDraft and signed with the club on February 6, 2012. On March 11, Meara started his first game against
FC Dallas. On April 28, he recorded his first professional shutout against the
New England Revolution. Meara started the first 18 games of the season and emerged as a leading candidate for the
MLS Rookie of the Year Award. However, on July 8 he sustained a hip injury during a game which required surgery and ended his season. On December 11, 2014, New York Red Bulls announced that Meara would be loaned to
New York City FC for the 2015 season. After suffering a torn meniscus in preseason training, Meara would make his first start for NYCFC on April 24, 2015. It was his first Major League Soccer appearance after a hip injury ended his rookie season on July 8, 2012, a span of 1,020 days. Meara returned to the Red Bulls at the conclusion of the 2015 season. On March 26, the New York Red Bulls announced that they had loaned Meara and six other first team players to
New York Red Bulls II for their home opener. He went on to make his first appearance for
New York Red Bulls II on March 26, appearing as a starter in a 2–2 draw against
Toronto FC II. After helping lead New York to the USL regular season title, Meara helped the club advance to the 2016 USL Cup Final by making two saves in a
penalty shootout as top-seeded NYRBII defeated second-seeded
Louisville City FC 4–3 in the shootout of the Eastern Conference Final. On October 23, 2016, Meara captained New York in a 5–1 victory over
Swope Park Rangers in the
2016 USL Cup Final. On June 14, 2017, Meara led New York to a 1–0 victory over league rival and former club
New York City FC in the
2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. On July 13, 2017, Meara in his role as keeper for New York in the Cup led his team to a 1–0 victory over
New England Revolution, advancing to the semifinals of the Open Cup. On May 10, 2022, Meara recorded a shutout for New York in a 3–0 victory over
DC United, helping the club advance to Round of 16 in the
2022 U.S. Open Cup. Almost a year to the date, on May 9, 2023, Meara recorded another shutout for New York in 1–0 victory over rival
DC United, helping his side advance to the Round of 16 of the
2023 U.S. Open Cup. On March 23, 2024, Meara recorded his first MLS clean sheet since 2020 in a 4–0 victory over
Inter Miami CF. On January 22, 2025, ahead of the upcoming 2025 season, Meara announced his retirement from playing soccer after 13 seasons in the professional game.
International Meara, who qualified for Irish citizenship through his grandparents, was named to the
Republic of Ireland U-21 team on April 30, 2012. However, the Red Bulls did not permit him to train with Ireland, despite the fact that the call-up would not require him to miss any MLS games. In June 2014,
Ireland's senior team used Red Bulls' training facilities before a
friendly match against
Portugal, and Meara joined the Irish for a practice session. Ireland coach
Martin O'Neill said he would "keep an eye on things". ==Honors==