Victorious Tipperary hurling championship captain Alan Flynn has claimed he and his Kiladangan teammates were “thrown under the bus” by county boss Liam Cahill.
In 2022, Kiladangan had six players named on the Tipperary panel but when Cahill took over, that number was reduced to two in a 40-man squad. Only goalkeeper Barry Hogan made the final championship cut. Kiladangan lost last year’s county final in a replay and Flynn says the “absolutely ridiculous” squad selection spurred them on to go one better this year.
Flynn’s brother, Paul, and Willie Connors, who were also omitted from the Tipperary panel, were named man-of-the-match in the drawn final and replay respectively
“We got thrown under the bus last year, not brought back in, and we were not happy about it at all,” said Alan Flynn. “I think they disregarded us as a club. It was absolutely ridiculous. You’re telling me there’s no one out there good enough to be on the Tipperary team? It’s absolutely madness.
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“Finally, we get a chance to speak about it because I was asked about this before the county final, I wasn’t going to talk about it. To be honest, that was a massive thing that we wanted to show them that we’re well good enough to be on that Tipp panel.”
The final also offered an element of redemption for Kiladangan selector Darragh Egan, who has been the driving force behind the club’s golden generation. Flynn hit out at Wexford for dismissing Egan as manager this summer, despite support from the county panel.
“Darragh has given so much to Kiladangan hurling club and given so much to me and my age group and years below me. The amount of training he does for us and the amount he does for our club, for anyone to throw him under the bus doesn’t understand hurling and doesn’t understand Kiladangan hurling club.
“He dies for that club and I couldn’t be happier, especially for him. He’s an unbelievable club man. I’m delighted to get over the line for him.”
The 29-year-old Flynn hurled for six years with Tipperary, winning an All-Ireland title in 2019. Claiming a second county title with his club, however, ranks higher.
“This is the pinnacle of your hurling career. Anyone who tells you, ‘You win the All-Ireland with county and that’s unbelievable’, this is the pinnacle. I’ve two now. If I was told I’d have two in my career, I’d say that’s the finest, I’ll hang up them boots.
“I’ve two of the biggest medals you can get. No matter what county you’re in, if you can win your county senior final, it’s the biggest medal you can get in hurling. I’m just happy to have two of them in my back pocket now.”
Kiladangan have also lost three finals but Flynn says the quality of their play gave them the edge over a dogged Thurles Sarsfields side.
“The worst thing that can happen to you in a county final is to not perform. We’ve been there. We’ve played in finals and we have not performed. If we were beat there with a performance I’d take that on the chin but that performance was too good to be beat.
“We just showed too much heart and too much hurling. Our hurling was so good coming down when we needed it. It was unbelievable.”
Kiladangan will now get a first crack at the Munster Championship, where they can look forward to a semi-final against Clare champions Clonlara at Semple Stadium.
“I absolutely can’t wait,” said Flynn. “I watched Clonlara a few weeks ago, their six forwards are unbelievable. I don’t think there’s a better six forwards out there. We’ve seen a lot of Tipp teams come out after county finals and it’s important to represent your county correctly. When you get that opportunity, you don’t throw dirt on it.
“We will prepare for that as best we can, like Clonlara will, and that will be a heroic battle. It’s on here as well so I can’t wait for that in three weeks’ time.”
