Flynn, Mick
July 03, 2012The last 12 months for Kill GAA Club have been very sad and emotional, with yet another loss, as on Monday 4th June the curtain came down on the life of Mike Flynn, Kilbeg. Like Noel Power, Paddy Duggan and Tommy Mooney before him, Mike answered our Lords call after a prolonged period of illness bourne with great courage and dignity.
His remains were taken from his residence on Wednesday 7th June where they were greeted by members (past and present) of the club in a guard of honour, with the no. 13 jersey adoring his coffin, as his colleagues and team mates lifted him one last time to the altar. There, his great friend Martin Kennedy gave a fitting tribute to one of the stars of the great Kill team of the sixties. The following day he was buried in the family plot in the adjoining cemetery after 11am mass in front of a big crowd of family and friends. Mike Flynn was born into a GAA house and he followed his late brothers Tom and Neddy by playing football with Kill from an early age, Like all boys of his generation, he got a great grounding from the school principle of the time, the late Dan O'Brien, a fanatical Kerryman, with the school yard honing many a lads football skills and Mike was no exception.
He won U14 County football title in 1951 and 8 years later he arrived on Kill's senior team. In 1962 he played a big part in the clubs run to a first every County title in the senior Grade, with a 2nd round match against Dungarvan proving the highlight for Mike, as he scored a crucial goal which swung the game Kill's way. During the 60's he was one for the club's top scorers and had a particular eye for goal, especially with high balls coming in around the square where his "big fist" would cause endless problems for the full back line. Never more did this come through then in the County semi final of 1967 against the great Kilrossanty, where he notched a vital green flag in the middle leg of that famous 3 in a row. While Mike's fist was synonymous, he had mores skills in his locket that he was credited for. A two footed footballer, he was very intelligent with a great football brain. While he ever wandered far from the full forward line, he was great at keeping the ball in play and was always thinking out and looking for an in rushing half forward to "feed him the ball".
But above all he was a great team player and a great sportsman. In an era of physical football, he never found the need to retaliate to all the hard knocks that he received. He might not have been the quickest on his feet, but his ice coolness often lulled a corner back into false sense of security. When Mike retired in 1970 he had 4 Senior Football medals and 3 Phelan Cup medals to his name and not many can say that. While he never for involved in the administration side of things, or selection committees, after his playing days, he would regularly attend Kill's matches and up until the last few years he could seen in Tom Kiernan's jeep at the games. He was always very generous towards the running of the club, whether it was Deise Draw, a raffle, or a race night he wasn't found wanting. In truth Mike Flynn was a gentleman to his finger tips, something his colleagues in Kilmeaden Cheese Factory could testify to, where he spent nearly 20years of his life working. The big turnout of his former workers at his funeral was an indication of the high regard they held him in. On behalf of the club we wish to express our deepest sympathises to Mike's sisters Peg and Kathleen (both domiciled in England) and the extended Flynn and Kearns families. "Ar dheis de go raibh a hainm deilis".
(Text courtesy of Waterford News & Star 03/07/12) Tweet
