WHEN SYL DOLAN was appointed as the new manager for the Ardrahan senior hurlers, he had one task on his mind: recruit Johnny Glynn.
The 2017 All-Ireland winner was living in New York for almost a decade at this point and had commuted over and back in the year of Galway’s Liam MacCarthy success. But when Dolan first made contact, Glynn declined. He was busy with his job as a quantity surveyor, and the travel involved was too much to take on.
Dolan accepted his response but wasn’t willing to discard all hope of his return.
“I kept the pressure on . . .” Dolan says.
The persistence paid off eventually thanks to the intervention of Glynn’s clubmate, friend and former Galway teammate Iarla Tannian. What the 2012 All-Star said to Glynn to turn the ‘No’ into a ‘Yes’, Dolan isn’t quite sure. But in any case, he finally had his man in time for the 2023 county championship. There were challenges involved for both the manager and the flying player, and Dolan laid them out in stark detail.
“I said, ‘Johnny, there’s a lot on the line for me but there’s an awful lot more at stake for you. Be as fit as you possibly can.”
Glynn had a head start on that request. In truth, he never really lost his engine since relocating to New York. He was still pucking ball at club level, and also joined the county’s football team where he nailed down a position at midfield. He played his part in last year’s famous Connacht quarter-final win over Leitrim during that term.
The travel itinerary was intense as Glynn made four round trips to play in Ardrahan’s championship games. But from his first appearance, Dolan had the proof that not only would Glynn be an asset in their campaign, he could well be in line for a Galway return.
“He played full-forward against Castlegar in the first match of the championship and he was absolutely awesome. Particularly in the first half, it was the most superb half an hour of hurling. Anyone that was at the game would have said: ‘Galway need Johnny Glynn.’”
His instincts were correct. Glynn finished that game with a point from play along and hit 1-1 when Ardrahan faced Sarsfields later in the championship. They reached the preliminary quarter-finals but were felled by Clarinbridge. Glynn was suspended for that game following a controversial incident against Sarsfields in which he was seen pinning down Darren Morrissey by the neck. Dolan stresses however, that Glynn is “not a dirty player by any means”.
That moment aside, Dolan notes that Galway boss Henry Shefflin was in attendance at their games, clearly seeing enough to invite Glynn back into the fold. He’s now officially on board, and a first inter-county game since 2019 is imminent.
From what Dolan has heard from the other Ardrahan representatives in the panel, the new testament of Johnny Glynn is unfolding nicely.
“Galway did a training camp in Portugal a few weeks ago and Johnny was there. I asked one of the other lads from Ardrahan who was there and they said he was awesome. They’ve all welcomed him and embraced his return.”
Glynn wasn’t named in Galway’s matchday squad for their Leinster round-robin opener against Carlow. But with Kilkenny calling to Pearse Stadium this weekend, Glynn could well be deployed into action. Standing strong at 6ft 6in and 16 stone, Glynn looks best when he’s in the air catching ball. It was one of his most effective qualities during his earlier years of hurling for Galway where he was normally positioned at wing-forward.
At the very least, Shefflin can always use Glynn as a distraction tactic. Teams will have to consider how best to negate his influence, whether he plays or not. But when he is on the pitch, Dolan expects to see him lording the skies and securing possession to create scoring opportunities.
“I would see Henry putting him in full-forward and Galway delivering long ball into him,” says Dolan. “He’s a huge man. He has superb hands on him. If they hit them in, Johnny will catch them. He’s so good in the air and that’s his strongest point. Something along those lines will be what Galway will be working on against Kilkenny with Johnny catching the ball and feeding the other forwards.
“You could target puckouts at wing forward as well. He’s not a one-trick pony. It doesn’t matter how you plan for him, he’s going to take some marking. Henry definitely has a plan for him.”
The good news for Ardrahan folks is that Glynn has committed to the club for the 2024 championship. Dolan of course hopes that his New York star flourishes for Galway, but avoiding injury is also on his mind. His initial pitch to Glynn was to give Ardrahan “one rattle,” but it appears the rattle is still reverberating. Glynn is hooked.
“He’s highly motivated and keeps himself well. He’s not too old, he’s 30, so he has a few years ahead of him. He makes very light of travelling from New York back to Ireland. He’s done it so many times and he doesn’t mind it.”
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