Paul Flynn (born 8 July 1986) is a Gaelic footballer who plays for Fingallians and, formerly, for the Dublin county team. He is from Swords, County Dublin. He has received four All Star Awards in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and represented Ireland in the Compromise Rules games in Croke Park and Cavan in 2013. He roomed with fellow DCU team-mates,

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

and

Aidan Walsh Aidan Walsh (born 23 January 1990) is an Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer who plays for Cork Championship club Kanturk and at inter-county level with the Cork senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a full-forward. Playing career Cor ...

. Paul Flynn was the first player to receive four consecutive All Stars in the qualifier era of second chances.

Playing career

Flynn made his Dublin debut when appearing as a second-half substitute in Dublin's first-round O'Byrne Cup victory over Wicklow on 5 January 2008 in Parnell Park. Flynn made his

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

debut for Dublin against

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

and scored a goal in the process, helping guide his team to a first-round victory. He made his Championship debut against

on 29 June 2008. On 18 September 2011, Flynn helped Dublin claim their first All-Ireland title in sixteen years, as they beat

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

at Croke Park. He was awarded his first All Star Award for his performances for Dublin in the half forwards in 2011. Under Pat Gilroy's management term Paul Flynn became a regular in the Dublin half-forward line and was selected as Dublin's lone All Star in 2012. In 2013, he complained about a lack of intensity of the Dubs and he brought amazing fitness levels and intensity to the team. On 22 September 2013, Dublin won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship with a big help from Paul Flynn in the half-forward line wearing number 10. He played twice for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

against Australia in the

2013 International Rules Series The 2013 International Rules Series (officially the 2013 Irish Daily Mail International Rules Series) was the 17th International Rules Series contested between Gaelic footballers from Ireland and Australian footballers from Australia. Ireland e ...

. In 2016 Flynn helped his club Fingallians to win the Dublin Intermediate Club Championship. That same year they went on to reach the semi-final of the Leinster Intermediate Club Championship which included a victory over St Josephs of Louth in the process before losing to Rosemount of Westmeath in that semi-final. In May 2019, it was confirmed that Flynn had stepped away from the Dublin senior football team.

All Stars

Flynn received his first ever all star in 2011 after winning the All Ireland football title with Dublin alongside teammates Alan Brogan (footballer of the year), Bernard Brogan, Kevin Nolan, Stephen Cluxton and Michael Darragh Macauley. In 2012 after reaching the All Ireland Semi-Final and losing to Mayo, he was selected as Dublin's lone All Star alongside roommate and friend Michael Murphy. After clinching his second All Ireland senior football title in September 2013, he was again selected as an all star. This became Paul's third All Star in a row. In 2014 Dublin made it to the All Ireland Semi-Final, but this time losing to Donegal. Flynn was selected as an all star for the fourth year in a row. But due to his sister's wedding he did not show at the All Star banquet. He later accepted the award from club member and Dublin Legend Ciaran Duff at a celebration in Fingallians GAA Club with many club members, family and friends present. This was the first time anyone has won four in a row since Jack O'Shea (six in a row from 1980–86) and Kerry team-mate Páidí Ó Sé (five in a row from 1981–1985) 30 years ago. He is also the first to win four all stars in a row in the qualifier era of second chances. Flynn's achievement, both in terms of overall awards won and in earning the distinction of becoming the first to win four in a row in almost 30 years, ranks high up in the overall All Stars hall of fame.

Honours

; Dublin *

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

(6): 2011,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, 2015,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GA ...

(10):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, 2009, 2011,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, 2015,

(5):

, 2015,

Individual

; Awards * GAA-GPA All Stars Awards (4): 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, Paul 1986 births Living people DCU Gaelic footballers Dublin inter-county Gaelic footballers Fingallians Gaelic footballers Gaelic football forwards Irish international rules football players People from Swords, Dublin Sportspeople from Fingal Winners of five All-Ireland medals (Gaelic football)