Insomnia ambassador and Galway hurler Conor Whelan poses for a portait at the launch of Insomnia’s 5-year partnership with the GAA/GPA at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile.
By Paul Keane
Galway captain Conor Whelan says his close pal Johnny Glynn still has so much to offer after being recalled to their hurling panel a whopping five years after he last featured.
Glynn and Whelan were key attackers when the Tribesmen last claimed the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2017 but while reigning All-Star Whelan has remained a central figure since, Glynn has been mostly based in New York.
It was just last year that he captained the New York footballers to a famous Championship win over Leitrim and he competed in the Tailteann Cup too before impressing for his hurling club Ardrahan.
It was that strong form that prompted the county recall and after recently rejoining training it appears that the powerful, six-foot-five-inch full-forward will be a live option this summer for up front for Henry Shefflin's Galway.
Still just 30, Whelan believes that Glynn's second coming can be a successful one.
"He was back training with us last week, he's gone back to New York this week," said Whelan at the launch of Insomnia's five-year partnership with the GAA and the Gaelic Players Association. "Johnny's a phenomenal guy. I won an All-Ireland with him in 2017, know him personally as a friend as well. We've always stayed in contact. He has lots of friends in the group. He played very well for his club last year and the (management) guys wanted to see what he had to offer. He's in very good shape. We're hoping he's going to be part of the group.
"Anyone would like to play alongside him. Even his personality and the type of guy he is...he's planning on being part of the group and even just having him there and having his influence will be massive for us.
"I think he was 25 or 26 when he last played with Galway. It's mad to think at his age he hasn't hurled since. He came back last year and played very well for his club. I think he was doing Jiu-Jitsu and different stuff in New York. He's not your average GAA player, he's got a wide variety of skill set."
Jonathan Glynn of Galway in action against Darragh O'Donovan of Limerick during the 2018 GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Galway and Limerick at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Whelan said that the mark made by Glynn when playing football for New York showed just how effective he can be to a team.
"I think he was one of the main driving forces behind that," said Whelan of the Exiles' relative success. "Johnny's that kind of guy, he's an all or nothing kind of guy. He's not the kind of guy you'd pick up off the side of the street, he's a unique fella. We've definitely missed him the last couple of years. There's been different times that he was looking at coming back but for a multitude of different reasons, his job and his wife are in New York, it didn't happen. We're just hoping it works out."
Glynn won't feature in Galway's final group game in their Allianz League campaign tomorrow. They play Limerick in Salthill and the winner will be guaranteed a league semi-final place.
Whelan won't be involved himself either following a straight red card against Dublin last weekend.
"I'm serving my penance for that," acknowledged Whelan. "Some days it goes for you and some days it doesn't. It probably just boiled over a little bit. Yeah, I'm serving my penance really."
Whelan described the tie against old rivals Limerick, a repeat of the 2018 All-Ireland final, as 'a massive test for the group'.
"It's definitely one you'd like to be playing," he said.
As for whether Galway actually want to advance to a league semi-final, or even a final, with the Championship now close on the horizon and a warm weather training camp coming up, Whelan was unequivocal.
"Competitive games are always the target," insisted Whelan. "Your focus is building towards the Championship and I think we've played over 30 players in the league so far. You've players coming from a multitude of areas. You've St Thomas' lads coming off the back of their campaign. There's lads who were off travelling, like myself. You've Fitzgibbon Cup lads. So it's just trying to get them all up to the same level and a semi-final would be a great opportunity."
