FOUR YEARS AGO Alan Flynn was guiding a collection of Galway underage talents to an All-Ireland title.
They staved off the challenge of Cork in the Gaelic Grounds by three points on a damp night.
Players like Fiontan Ó Curraoin, Tom Flynn and Shane Walsh have since kicked on to establish themselves at senior level.
Flynn was the manager for that 2013 triumph, now he’s taking his next step on the inter-county sidelines as a coach at senior level.
Last October the Tuam native moved south to jump on board with the Clare footballers. They set off on the championship road next Sunday against Limerick.
“I knew about Alan from his days with the Galway U21′s and a mutual friend recommended him,” says Clare manager Colm Collins.
“I rang him and thankfully he accepted the offer and we met a couple of times.
“I liked his attitude and his philosophy in football. He’s been a tremendous addition.”
Flynn is the fourth coach Collins has worked with during his time in the Banner hot-seat, one for every year he has been in charge.
2010 Cork All-Ireland winner Paudie Kissane was involved in 2014, then Cork All-Ireland ladies football winning boss Ephie Fitzgerald was coaching in 2015 and current Dublin ladies football manager Mick Bohan had a role last year.
“I must be a very difficult man to get on with,” quips Collins.
“Alan is some coach. It’s ironic in a way that our two big games in the country and you could number the amount of really good coaches on. There aren’t that many in my opinion.
“But Alan is excellent. We’ve been blessed with this team because we’ve had some really good coaches. There are two things – you have to understand the game in front of you and then you have to coach the game implicitly.
“Get your message across and make sure your message gets across. It’s the old story of the brilliant teacher who writes all the maths books and he can’t impart the knowledge to the kids in a class situation.
“It’s much the same thing. The people who are blessed with this knowledge of the game and then there is man management, having a relationship with the people you coach and then being able to impart what they have in their head.
“It’s a gift that not many people have.”
Clare suffered some disappointments at the tail end of the league but when the dust settled, they were content to have preserved their status in the second tier.
“When we got a bit of time to draw breath and sit down, I would agree it was good to survive. It was tainted a bit on the last day of the league, the display.
“After the game people were very down about how we played. But I think that when we got a bit of time to talk and to think we were still pretty happy to be in Division two.
“(We) don’t beat Cork often in senior football very often. That was very important. The best football display was the day we played Kildare.
“We played really well that day and did all the things that the coach would have asked you to do. Even though it is ironic we lost the game. A lot of the displays in the league were in fits and starts.”
Collins is the manager of a team in a county where hurling is the dominant force in enticing young players. But he feels that football can continue to thrive after last year’s milestone in reaching the All-Ireland quarter-final.
“Let’s not mess around, Clare are one of the top hurling counties and they have an All-Ireland title under their belt in 2013. I’ve always said about that title, I think it was a benefit to football.
“The players they knew each other and they were training together and they realise that there isn’t a whole lot more to do than get to a good level.
“We’ve been blessed with players who are very professional. You get a lot of groups where you get talent. Every county in the country has got talented footballers.
“The next question is ‘will they walk the walk’, will they live lifestyles to proceed and do well in football.
“We’ve been very lucky in football. The vast majority of the players do and especially the leaders of the team have been fantastic.”
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