Cathal Flynn (1934 – 3 June 2021) was an Irish

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 ...

er who played for club sides

Gorvagh Gorvagh (Garvagh; Irish Garbhach) is a townland in County Leitrim, Ireland. It is located at , about from Mohill Mohill (, meaning "Soft Ground") is a town in County Leitrim, Ireland. The town of Carrick-on-Shannon is approximately 16&nb ...

and Seán McDermotts and at inter-county level with the Leitrim senior football team. He usually lined out as a forward.

Career

Born in

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

, Flynn first came to

prominence when he won a Leinster Colleges Championship title with the Franciscan College in

Multyfarnham Multyfarnham or Multyfarnam () is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland. History First founded in 1268, the Franciscan monastery at Multyfarnham is still home to a community of friars. During the English conquest of Ireland in the 17th cent ...

. His two seasons with the Leitrim minor team culminated with him being appointed

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

in 1952. Flynn also joined the Leitrim senior football team that year and began a 14-year senior career that saw him line out in five successive Connacht finals without winning. He was top scorer for the team for 10 years between 1956 and 1966, scoring 40 goals and 356 points. With the Seán McDermotts club in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

he won three successive league titles, while he was also selected for

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

in the

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 ...

Personal life and death

Flynn was the only son of Charley Flynn, a national school teacher who had played with the Dublin senior football team for three years. After leaving

he worked as an accountant in

before settling in

Clonee Clonee () is a village and a townland in County Meath, Ireland. It borders Fingal to the east at the townlands of Huntstown and Littlepace, and is sometimes used in addresses for housing in those townlands. The River Tolka passes the village. G ...

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

. Flynn died in

Connolly Hospital The Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown ( ga, Ospidéal Uí Chonghaile Baile Bhlainséir) is a teaching hospital in Blanchardstown, Dublin, Ireland. It is managed by RCSI Hospitals. History The hospital, which was initially established as a t ...

on 3 June 2021.

Honours

;Franciscan College *

Leinster Colleges Senior Football Championship The Leinster colleges senior football "A" championship, is the top level Gaelic football competition for secondary schools in Leinster. The winners receive the Brother Bosco (Mulhare) Cup and advance to the All-Ireland colleges "A" senior footba ...

: 1952 ;Seán McDermotts *Dublin Senior Football League: 1957, 1958, 1959

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, Cathal 1934 births 2021 deaths Connacht inter-provincial Gaelic footballers Irish accountants Leitrim inter-county Gaelic footballers Sportspeople from County Leitrim