Séamus Flanagan enjoying new roles in 2026
Pictured is former Limerick Minor Hurler, Séamus Flanagan, at the finals preview of the 2026 Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championships. This summer, Electric Ireland are using their social channels to spotlight players from across the Championships, in recognition of the major impact that playing Minor can have on young people’s future successes, on and off the field. Electric Ireland are pairing up former Minor Legends with current players to give the ultimate insight into the last 15 years of Minor. You can follow the campaign on social media @ElectricIreland and via the hashtag #ThisIsMajor.
Click here to listen to the interview with Séamus Flanagan.
By Cian O'Connell
Séamus Flanagan knew that it would be different in 2026. Nearly a decade spent on the senior inter-county beat brought medals and memories.
So, not wearing the green and white shirt, the training and matches, meant different challenges had to embraced.
New opportunities and possibilities were presented. "There is definitely getting used to it, I kept myself busy doing bits and pieces like this today, and getting involved with Boherlahan, a Premier Intermediate team in Tipperary," Flanagan says.
"I keep myself busy, I've a couple of small kids and a wife at home so there is no rest for the wicked. I'm enjoying it, watching from a different perspective.
"It took a bit of time to get used to, maybe the lack of routine, things like that, but with small kids at home, you don't be long getting whipped into shape with school runs and school drops, different pieces like that. Life has been good."
Was Flanagan always going to go down the coaching route? "For me personally, getting to work under the likes of Paul Kinnerk, he's the best of the best at what he does - He is, I would safely say, the best coach I've worked under," Flanagan says.
"I think his accolades and CV speak for itself, who he has worked with in the past, who he is currently working with, and who he will work with in the future.
"His scope and range of what he can do is endless. Getting first hand exposure and experience working closely with him over my inter-county years, having conversations with him. That definitely sparked the interest for me coaching."
Kinnerk is a significant influence still. "I've had a couple of conversations with him since, I picked his brain on a couple of bits and pieces, he offered assistance in my birth into coaching," Flanagan adds.
Limerick's Séamus Flanagan pictured ahead of the 2025 Munster SHC clash against Waterford. Photo by Tom Beary/Sportsfile
"It's definitely something that was on my mind, you can see the way he'd think about the game, how he'd put scenarios in place where you'd do something on a smaller scale and then come match day it'd play out exactly how he thought it. The intricacies of his mind and how that worked definitely sparked my approach and inclination about what I wanted to do.
"I didn't expect it to be coming so soon in my career, but it's something I've taken on board, and I jumped at the opportunity when it came knocking. I'm really enjoy it, I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I have.
"The gap leaving inter-county hurling is tough to fill, but it's definitely something got me through a couple of dark days and tough times that inter-county would've left behind."
Flanagan has relished the increased media activity too. "On the punditry side of things, I'd watch an awful lot of other sports," Flanagan responds.
"I'd watch an awful lot of soccer and rugby. One thing that stood out to me was the way Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher look at the soccer through a different lens. How they speak about it, how they interpret it, and it's something I always found fascinating.
"I'd be a big podcast listener, listening to the Stick to Football podcast, I enjoy the way they interpret the game, something that to yourself and myself might look so blasé and so normal and mundane, they see the uniqueness in something so small that people might gloss over. Looking at that sparked my interest. A couple of these gigs came about, when I went for them they seemed to go well."
The advice and encouragement from others matters to Flanagan. "One of my first was with the BBC, they were so easy to work with, they were so accommodating," he says.
"I've a good friend, Thomas Niblock, who asked me to come up, I really enjoyed working with them. It was easy, they made me feel at home. Even getting to work with RTE recently for the Munster final coverage.
"Joanne Cantwell, Liam Sheedy, and Donal Óg made me feel at home. They made my views and what I could see, respected and valued inside there. That was a big part of it for me. I enjoy it."
