My Club and I: Tom Flynn
My Club and I: Tom Flynn
My Club and I: Tom Flynn
In this week's My Club and I, we speak to young Galway football midfielder Tom Flynn about his club Athenry.
By Arthur Sullivan
Immortalised in the iconic song, Athenry (Baile Átha an Rí - The Ford of the King) is a large town situated in mid-east County Galway, about 16 miles east of Galway city.
The town has a population of around 4,000 people, is the home of the 800-year-old Athenry Castle, and is known throughout the world as a result of 'The Fields of Athenry', one of the best known Irish folk ballads relating to the Great Irish Famine of 1845-1850.
St Mary's GAA, Athenry is primarily known for its hurling team, but obviously, given that Tom Flynn is best known as a footballer, the club also has a strong football team. They are one of the strongest 'dual' clubs in County Galway - they have a long since established senior hurling team, while they are a strong force at intermediate football level at present.
Without a doubt, it's in hurling that Athenry have most made their mark. The club has won three All-Ireland Senior Hurling Club Championships, all during a glorious period at the turn of the millennium, landing the top prize in 1997, 2000 and 2001.
Only Ballyhale Shamrocks, Portumna and Birr have won more titles, so Athenry hold an esteemed place in the annals of club hurling in Ireland. The club have won eight Galway Senior Hurling Championships, most recently in 2008. This season, they were knocked out of the senior championship by 2013/2014 All-Ireland champions Portumna.
[highlight/>
Athenry are based at Carnaun, just outside the town, and they play in maroon and white, the same colours as the Galway senior teams. Tom Flynn is a rare thing at Athenry, a hurler better known as a footballer, but he is a hurler of distinction and is one of a small group of dual players at the club.
Eugene Cloonan and Joe Rabbitte were iconic hurlers for Athenry during their glory years, and both were also distinguished hurlers for the Galway senior hurling team. Cloonan won an All Star in 2001, while Rabbitte won All Stars in 1993 and 2000. Perhaps their most famous player is PJ Molloy, who won All-Ireland senior medals with Galway in 1980 and 1987 and an All Star in 1977.
For more about Athenry GAA, visit athenrygaa.ie
(Carnaun at night)
Q: You're primarily known as a footballer, but coming from a place like Athenry, hurling must be every bit as big a part of your life as football.
A: Absolutely. Just there two weeks ago, the boys in the year below me won the Galway U21 Hurling Championship. They beat Tynagh-Abbey/Duniry in the final, the club of Pádraig Brehony and Shane Maloney. So that was a big win and the club is on a high at the moment because of that. We're a big hurling club.
Q: So what's Athenry itself like and what's the situation with your club?
A: Athenry is a big town, and relative to the actual size of the town, the GAA community would be quite small. We are a tight enough club. There is obviously a football section within the club, with people like myself. My family aren't actually from Athenry, they're from Roscommon. The football has kind of come into the area with people like that, people who have moved into the town in the last 20 years or so. But the hurling obviously has a massive tradition. My age group was always quite strong in both football and hurling all the way up.
Q: Do you play senior hurling for Athenry?
A: I do. We're at the end stage of the season now. We lost to Portumna in the senior championship earlier in the year, but we have a good young team with a lot of talented players between the ages of 18 and 24. So we're very hopeful that we'll have success in the future.
Q: How have you found balancing your inter-county career with your club career?
A: I've been kind of frustrated by the fact that when you are with the county, you can't give as much time to your club. Towards the end of the year I felt frustrated by that. Back in September, we ended up losing the intermediate football semi-final on the same weekend as we lost to Portumna in the hurling. I was playing in both games, and to be knocked out of both championships on the one weekend was a lot to take in. I suppose that's just part of the privilege of playing with Galway.
Q: Given that Athenry is traditionally a hurling area, how strong has football been there in your lifetime?
A: We're intermediate and we have been in two intermediate semi-finals and an intermediate final in recent years, so we're there or thereabouts. We've a good mix in the football team, a lot of young guys and a lot of older guys. In a way, that makes it more enjoyable. We have older guys coming to the end who take the younger guys under their wing, and it's just a really friendly environment.
Q: What are the club's facilities like?
A: Our pitch is known as Carnaun, that's essentially the base of St. Mary's GAA Club, Athenry. Then we have a sand pitch beside that. Then there's another pitch called Raheen up closer to the town which is used for underage games and league games and things like that. Then Kenny Park is in the town itself, and we might play the odd game there, especially championship games. When we get Kenny Park, we're happy but we don't train there or anything. But our actual headquarters as such is Carnaun. It's a bit outside the town but it's ideal really. I'm from a place called Derrydonnell, which is a part of Athenry, but Derrydonnell used to have their own team back years ago and there's always a bit of banter about the fact that Derrydonnell in their own right would have the makings of a good team.
Q: Do you have a strong family connection with the club?
A: Well my parents are from Roscommon so sometimes I get a bit of slagging for being a Roscommon man! But I know I've put in the hard yards for Galway! My brother Colm is 17 and he came on in the U21 hurling final there recently. He's a very good player. Like myself, he has the football influence from the Roscommon connection but the hurling still comes from growing up in Athenry. Some families would be closer connected with hurling, but we ended up just going along with both and I don't think either of us really has a favourite. We just play what we can when we can.
Q: Did you play much underage hurling for Galway?
A: I played U14, and had trials at U16. But by minor level I didn't actually go to the trials. We had won the minor hurling with Athenry that year, in 2010, but Mattie Murphy was minor manager at the time but I don't think he had much time for the football. But I ended up making the minor football panel and then it just took off from there. It wasn't any kind of preference, I just ended up getting my foot in the door with the football team. It's unusual for a lad from Athenry to get playing football with Galway.
Q: Have there been any Athenry men before you who played football for Galway?
A: Not at senior level, no. Stephen Cloonan, brother of Tom Cloonan - Eugene's father - he played minor for Galway and I think he won an All-Ireland minor football medal. But there haven't been many.
(Eugene Cloonan in action for Athenry back in 2001)
**
Q: In some strong hurling areas, football can often by frowned upon within clubs. Has that been the case in Athenry?
A: It wasn't really the case, no. We try our best. There are obviously times when the codes clash. That might have come about from the fact that the hurlers weren't doing as well as they had been in previous years while the footballers were coming good. But once the hurling is going in the right direction, and once both sides of the table are happy with how things are, it's fine. But inevitably, like what happened with the club championships, there are going to be clashes with fixtures. For me personally this year, it was tough. It wasn't that people were asking me to make a decision or anything, but the hurling was on the Saturday evening and the football was on Sunday morning so while the footballers didn't say it to me, I'm sure a few people wouldn't have minded if I had given the hurling a miss. But all my friends are on the hurling team, all the lads I grew up with, so I couldn't let either side down. There were three or four of us in the same boat and it was tough, but it had to be done.
Q: Given that you are playing football with the county team for most of the year, it must be hard to keep your hurling skills sharp..
A: Yeah, this year I really could have done with a bit more time with the hurlers. I think there was one game against Liam Mellows way back at the start of the year that I played but I wasn't involved after that until after Galway were out of the football. But hopefully I can work it a bit better from now on. Kevin Walsh has been accommodating since he took over Galway, and I've been able to play a few league games with the hurlers recently. It's getting better and the longer I'm involved with Galway, the better I'm able to manage the workload.
Q: What's your usual position in hurling?
A: I was centre-half-back at minor and U21 level, but they have been playing me as centre-half-forward recently. I just like putting the ball on the hurl and heading for goal!
Q: Galway is a dual county, but by and large, clubs seem to be divided along hurling or football lines, unlike in other dual counties. Athenry seems to be an exception in that you play both to quite a high level. Are there many clubs in your position within the county?
A: There isn't too many. Moycullen were the only senior dual club but they ended up getting relegated in both in the same year. So at the moment, I think we are the only club that has a senior hurling team and a strong football team, albeit at intermediate level. Moycullen are strong in both but they just happened to suffer dual relegation. Athenry is probably a big enough parish to accommodate both whereas other clubs have a smaller population and they just don't have the numbers to sustain it, because they need guys to play both. We actually don't have many dual players - generally our players play one or the other. Although there are lots who I wish would play both! All in good time hopefully.
(Athenry captain Joe Rabbitte following the 2001 All-Ireland club final victory)
**
Q: What are your memories of Athenry's three All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship wins in 1997, 2000 and 2001?
A: I wasn't at the first one, I was only five, but I remember the two subsequent ones. I was at an age back then where we would have worshipped those players. The team itself was almost like a county team, almost similar to the Corofin football team at the moment. A lot of the players from that era would still do a job if they were togged out. There are nearly too many to name...Eugene Cloonan, Joe Rabbitte, there are one or two in every line that will be always remembered. We always looked up to them. When we got to finals at U12 or U14, they'd be there and you'd be kind of open mouthed looking at them and thinking it's great that they know you by name.
Q: Athenry haven't actually won a Galway senior hurling championship title since 2004, a couple of years after that last All-Ireland win in 2001. There must be a huge hunger within the parish to get back to the top...
A: Yeah, we are very hopeful. I was thinking that next year I want to be able to commit to the club as best I can for a year to see what happens, to try and manage everything as best I can and to try and give more time to my club. But from talking to Kevin (Walsh) and some of the club lads, like one of the club lads explained to me that when I come back in to the club from Galway, that I'm fitter, faster and stronger as a result and that I can make a serious impact when I come in like that. Now, we are hopeful. Portumna are obviously still very strong but we only lost by a few points to them when they beat us earlier this year. And as well as that, we were missing a lot of our U21 players such as Jack Carr and Cathal Keane on the day. So taking those things into account, it wasn't a bad showing.
Q: How have Athenry done in the hurling in recent years?
A: We certainly haven't overachieved. We were in a relegation play-off in 2013 but since then, we have only lost a couple of games. I think we had only lost one in 15 or something like that. So we have turned it around. And the good news is that Brian Hanley is coming in as our manager. Brian was on the Athenry teams that won three All-Irelands so it's great to have him coming back. I think Micky Crimmins, the goalkeeper from those teams, is coming in as well and then you have Billy Caulfield, our current manager and an Athenry legend, I think he will be involved as well. So that's a really good management team coming in.
Q: The Galway senior hurling championship seems to be remarkably competitive - the winning clubs' record in the All-Ireland is the best of any county - do you have any opinion as to why this is?
A: I don't know...this year might be a bit different because it ran on so long but whatever it is...at the start of the year, there are any one of 12 or 15 teams who could make the semi-finals if they got their act together. We would hope that we would be in amongst those teams for next year's championship. I'm really looking forward to it. It's nice when you are playing so much football to come back and pick up a hurl.