Augustine P. Flynn (1933 – 26 April 2021), known as Austin Flynn, was an Irish hurler. As a player, he was noted in newspaper reports as a "fine hard-tackling but honest player" and "a sturdy sentry on the edge of the square." Flynn had a fifteen-year association with the Waterford senior hurling team and has been described as "one of its greatest defenders."

Career

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Waterford senior hurling team rose from obscurity to enjoy a

golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

in the sport. Flynn, having earlier lined out at minor level but declined a position on the junior team because of his youth, first played for the team in 1952 but only established himself as first-choice full-back five years later. It was a position he retained for over a decade. After winning the first of three

Munster Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurlin ...

medals in 1957, Flynn went on to claim his sole All-Ireland Championship title after a replay defeat of

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

in 1959. He also won a

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

medal in 1963. At club level, Flynn enjoyed a lengthy career playing for Abbeyside in both hurling and

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

. With Munster he won two

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

medals. Flynn had a number of personal achievements including three

Cú Chulainn Cú Chulainn ( ), called the Hound of Ulster (Irish: ''Cú Uladh''), is a warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god Lugh, ...

awards. He was recognised as his county's greatest full-back when he was picked in that position on the Waterford Hurling Team of the Millennium.

Death

Flynn's death was announced on 27 April 2021.

References

1933 births 2021 deaths Abbeyside hurlers Waterford inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners {{Waterford-hurling-bio-stub