'I COME IN WITH MY HURLEYS, GET THROWN A NAPPY AND A BOTTLE. I LOVE IT, THAT'S MY SWITCH OFF'

EVEN AMIDST THE pain of defeat, there was an appreciation at being involved in a hurling epic.

Seamus Flanagan plainly describes himself as not being ‘a notorious goalscorer’, but on a heady Saturday night in May, he broke loose to bag a hat-trick.

It represented a personal milestone, the first time the Limerick attacker had rattled the net three times in a single game in his hurling career.

The misfortune for Flanagan was that feat was overshadowed by the sensational ending as Cork’s late scoring spree rescued their season and condemned Limerick to defeat.

The champions regrouped in typical fashion, set to renew acquaintances with Cork next Sunday, and the previous instalment frames the build-up to this Croke Park showdown.

“It’s a strange one because obviously there was a small bit of personal celebration. But to lose…if we had won that game, we were guaranteed to go through. With the way things panned out, it didn’t really matter but at the time you were going down there to win.

“It was a cracker of a game. I wish there were more Saturday evening games because the atmosphere was off the charts. It was unreal.

“When Hoggy got that penalty at the end, you couldn’t hear yourself think. The crowd was just immense. You can talk about the rumble at Croke Park but there’s something special about those Munster games with the crowds (on a) Saturday evening.

“Going back through the years, we played Waterford at home on a Saturday evening as well and it’s special. There’s an extra bit of bite about those Munster games. It’s do-or-die when you get to Croke Park. Lose and you’re out. You can maybe embrace a little bit more in those round-robin games.”

Flanagan’s season hit a roadblock after that game. Twenty minutes in against Waterford and he limped off after his hamstring popped.

That meant he was cast as a bystander for the Munster final, two years previously he had been immersed in the action, shooting the lights out in striking eight points from play against Clare.

“It wasn’t the position I’ve been in before, so I found it tough. I get that, that point in time comes that that’s part of every every player’s game. There’s boys that do it week in, week out. So there’s always going to be someone, but I found it tough. It was really different.

“In a sense it was interesting because I saw all the off the ball stuff -. the boys making our movements and what the Clare boys were doing. It was a cool vantage point, but one that I wouldn’t want to be back in, too soon.”

He is conscious that the difficulty of his injury pales in comparison to that suffered by Peter Casey, a horror ankle break against Tipperary bringing his 2024 involvement to a shuddering halt.

“It’s short-term. For Peter, it is heartbreaking really. Coming back fresh from a cruciate to have this horror injury happen. Mike (Casey, his brother) has been through the wringer with knees as well. It is tough on the family.

“When you have 30-odd boys out training and you’re the only one sitting on the sideline, it’s a lonely place to be. so you have to get around him.

“But year on year, we always have someone out with an injury. As John says, it’s next man up.”

Flanagan has plenty to consume his attention off the field.

“So I have a nine-year-old, two-year-old, and twins, eight months old, so it’s a busy household.

“I come in with my hurleys and I get thrown a nappy and a bottle and Daddy duty hits you in the face fairly quickly.

“I’ve brilliant missus and she’s so allowing and forgiving for when I’ve gone training. Short notice, I might have a gym session.

“But I love it because that’s my switch off. When I go home, it’s my switch off from what’s going on inside the four lines. But my switch off from my home is inside the four lines, so it really works in tandem with each other.

“I love it like being able to get my family out in Croke Park after those big days and having pictures at the wall, and my mum at home and all my family now have those pictures.

“That’s something special, and that’s what it’s about, really, isn’t it? You have your family in the setup, but you have your family at home, and I think they intertwine really well. It’s kind of what you do it for, really.”

The demands on his time placed by family and hurling, necessitated a shift in Flanagan’s work life. After three years as a radiographer in hospital in Limerick, he switched to a role this year with Verizon, the US telecommunications company that have a base in Limerick.

“It was tough. There was a lot of on-call that I had to do, night shifts, weekend calls. You get a call and you’ll have to get to the hospital. So I found it hard to balance that, and then the smallies came along, it was just another plate to spin.

“When the twins were born, I kind of said to myself, something’s going to have to change here. Verizon ended up setting up in Limerick, so I jumped at that opportunity when it came to me. Since January, it’s two days in the office and three days at home. So it just allows me to balance that and training.”

Limerick return to Croke Park at a time when the season starts to increase in significance.

Their glittering run of success installs them as strong favourites from hereon in.

The stadium has provided constant happy experiences for Flanagan, his senior unbeaten record remains intact after missing the Kilkenny game in 2019.

“Your mindset changes because you know that it’s knockout.

“If you lose in Croke Park, you’re out. In Munster, it’s round-robin so, not that there’s scope to lose a game, but there’s a little bit of leeway. But once you’re inside the four lines of Croke Park, it’s do-or-die so the attitude has to change and the mindset has to flip to counteract that.”

And this season there is the added twist for Limerick of being two wins away from achieving hurling immortality with the five-in-a-row bid.

“Since the start of the year it’s been the elephant in the room,” admits Flanagan.

“You can bury your head in the sand and say that we’re not going to speak about it, but you’re going to hear it. And then boys are talking about it amongst each other in small little groups and it’s the elephant in the room.

“It’s just not being spoken about as a group. It’s there but it’s not a defining factor for us. Yes, it’s obviously something that the media and the fans are going to get hyped about. But for us it’s really about a process.

“It’s about what we did in the last game, how we can better ourselves for the next game, what we did well, what we didn’t do well and each game to get yourself to a higher pitch and a higher level.”

2024-07-03T13:36:39Z dg43tfdfdgfd