*Paul Flanagan. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
TWO-TIME All-Ireland winner Paul Flanagan has announced his retirement from inter-county hurling.
In a statement issued by Clare GAA, Flanagan confirmed he was calling time on his career as a Clare hurler. “It has been the honour of my life, thank you for the opportunity and support along the way”.
Ballyea’s Paul was captain of the Clare U21 hurlers when they were crowned All-Ireland Munster champions in 2013, he was also corner back on the 2012 side which claimed both titles, beating Kilkenny 2-17 2-11 in the All-Ireland final. His leadership skills were visible from an early age with Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor giving him the captaincy for the Clare minor hurlers who went on to contest the 2010 All-Ireland final, losing out to Kilkenny 2-10 0-14.
He joined the Clare senior hurling panel in 2012 and was a member of Davy Fitzgerald’s matchday panel when they won the All-Ireland championship a year later.
A first senior championship appearance followed in 2014 when he was introduced as a substitute during extra time when Clare recorded a 2-25 apiece draw with Wexford in Cusack Park. He won a National Hurling League medal in 2016.
Flanagan remained part of the panel in 2017 when Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor took charge, a knee injury sidelined him in 2018 and 2019, he and his then girlfriend, Sarah Moloney spent four months travelling in Asia and Australia.
Brian Lohan’s appointment as Clare manager was a turning point in Paul’s county career. He rejoined the panel in September 2020 and in November of that year he was handed his first championship start at the age of twenty eight against Laois in the All-Ireland SHC qualifiers. He was ever-present in the side for the following campaign and previously told The Clare Echo, “It’s been built out of a couple of years of hard work and trying to get to a better place overall which is mentally too. I’ve really enjoyed it, looking at it you just want to take it as it comes, good things will happen when you let them happen, for years I was probably forcing things a lot and you make hurling your number one in many shapes but it has swung around a little and I’d be a bit more balanced now”.
Arguably Flanagan’s greatest year in the Clare colours was in 2022, a season in which Clare contested the All-Ireland semi-final and Munster final and saw Paul recognised with an All Star nomination.
When the 2023 championship rolled around, he was first choice corner back for Clare’s Munster championship defeat to Tipperary in Cusack Park which turned out to be his inter-county championship start with several appearances off the bench in the past two seasons.
With his native Ballyea, Paul has been a driving force during an unprecedented amount of success for the club which has included winning four senior championships (2016, 2018, 2021 and 2022), a Munster club title in 2016 and a subsequent appearance in the All-Ireland club final.
Off the field, he is a well-respected performance coach who has completed a masters in performance psychology at the University of Limerick. He has worked with several underage Clare teams and had a big role behind the scenes with the Brian O’Connell managed minors who were crowned All-Ireland and Munster champions in 2023. This year, he was involved with the Kerry minor footballers who won the Munster championship and lost by a point to Derry in the All-Ireland semi-final.
Flanagan recently got married to his long-term partner Sarah where Liam MacCarthy was among the distinguished guests. He remains a familiar voice on radio and television through his punditry work with TG4 and is a teacher at Ard Scoil Rís where he is also heavily involved with the school’s talented hurling sides.
