He operated at altitude for 12 seasons. He made good on his promise to Paul. He carried on the flag his brother left behind.<\/p>\n
![\"Four-year-old](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5108958_13_articleinlinemobile_2722673_1_.jpg\" "\\"Four-year-old")
Four-year-old Grace Flynn with her proud uncle Jason Flynn after Galway’s Allianz Hurling League Division 1 tie against Westmeath at Pearse Stadium. Pic: Piaras \u00d3 M\u00eddheach\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had a massive impact on my life and sporting career,\u201d said Jason of a big brother who was himself part of the Galway hurling panel when his car crashed into a wall outside Loughrea 18 years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was 13 when he passed, very young, and hurling was a huge help to me at that age.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be quite honest, I made a massive promise to him when he passed away that I’d do everything I could to represent him and my family as best I could. It might sound a bit cliche, but that’s what I did.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The white Cooper helmet Paul wore when subduing Kilkenny\u2019s Richie Power during the 2005 All-Ireland U21 final was kept in service by his younger brother. And when eventually it had to be retired, Jason purchased himself a fresh white Cooper.<\/p>\n
It was this white Cooper he fastened ahead of his 54th minute introduction into the 2017 All-Ireland. He raised a white flag within a minute of his arrival. He added another before the finish.<\/p>\n
On that day and every other, Paul never feels too far away when the helmet is pulled on.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes me feel like a part of him is with me. Wearing a white Cooper was part of him, so it was nice to have one on in 2017,\u201d continued the 31-year-old. \u201cI was just so happy to see the pride of my family after the win in 2017. The tears in my father\u2019s eyes told its own story.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a dream come true, and I’m just so proud that I was able to do it for Paul, as much as my family and the people around home that helped me get back into the swing of things.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It being Leinster SHC final weekend, we return to the 2017 edition. Flynn had played every minute of their Leinster quarter and semi-final victories. He\u2019d entered summer in rich form. His 2-1 from play put him top of the charts when crushing Tipp in the League final. But then Wexford happened. Collective delight, personal dismay. Whipped off after only 31 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing off at Croke Park before half-time, a game that was on television, I found that tough. It hit me hard. You feel you let yourself and your teammates down,\u201d Jason, an SNA at Mercy Woodford, recalled this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThankfully, I found a bit of form again, got on against Tipp in the semi-final and got on in the final, so it just proves everyone has an off day. Looking back, there’s no shame in it, you just have to accept that sometimes you weren’t on your game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got into that impact role then of coming on, where obviously I prefer to be starting. I probably overthought it at times. I remember we did something in small groups as players and I said that when coming on as a sub, I\u2019d love to be getting 1-2 or 1-3, but David Burke was like, \u2018you shouldn’t be thinking like that because if you scored 1-2 in any game you\u2019d be happy, but when you\u2019re coming on with 20 minutes remaining, to make an impact do something simple before thinking about scoring\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was probably overeager to get on the ball and score, to win the game yourself, rather than come on and just do a simple thing like win a free or give an easy pass. David\u2019s words were a huge learning for me, not to lower my expectations but get yourself into a game rather than setting yourself up to fail.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The role of impact sub sustained. He came off the bench in the 2018 Leinster final and All-Ireland semi-final replay victories, the subsequent decider defeat to Limerick, as well as the 2020 All-Ireland semi-final near-miss against the same green opposition.<\/p>\n
His maroon chapter started so differently. He was so central to the forward operation under Anthony Cunningham that in 2015 he was entrusted with long-range free-taking duties. It didn\u2019t matter that Joe Canning was part of the same line-up.<\/p>\n
Twenty minutes into that September\u2019s All-Ireland final, the 20-year-old trotted back inside his own 65 and punished Joey Holden\u2019s foul.<\/p>\n
Mind you, he didn\u2019t need the long-distance boomers to stand out. On the stroke of 70 minutes in the All-Ireland semi-final, his audacious effort from the Cusack Stand sideline brought Galway level with Tipp.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was mad, really, because Joe was the established free-taker, but he had a bad hand injury earlier in the year, so it was trusted on me to take the long ones. A surreal experience but I relished the responsibility and looked forward to proving that I could put them over.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking back, it definitely was my most consistent year. Myself and Cathal Mannion, who also came on the scene the year before, hit massive heights together that year.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The second half of the 2015 final is best forgotten. Galway were a shell of their first-half selves. Somewhere in the blur of full-time disappointment, Flynn crossed paths with James McGarry. The Kilkenny selector offered his commiserations. Flynn offered his thanks for the incredibly thoughtful gesture of six years earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Paul\u2019s wake, James McGarry, Martin Comerford, and one or two other Kilkenny hurlers came to the house and shook our hands. They probably didn’t really know Paul, but it was a testament to the people they were.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember being in awe of them at the time, and even in dark circumstances you do appreciate, when you’re that age, All-Ireland winners coming into your home for no big reason other than the respect they had for a fellow inter-county hurler.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"LOOKING](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5108961_13_articleinlinemobile_28625_158050_1_.jpg\" "\\"LOOKING")
LOOKING UP: Jason Flynn says he made a “massive promise” to older brother Paul (pictured here in the 2005 All-Ireland U21 final) that he’d do everything to “represent him and my family as best I could.” Pic: Morgan Treacy, Inpho<\/p>\n
At the 2009 Galway-Kilkenny Leinster semi-final a year later, fellow Tommy Larkins clubman Cyril Farrell passed onto Jason a signed Kilkenny jersey and letter from McGarry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI suppose he had gone through his own tragedy (McGarry\u2019s wife, Vanessa, was killed in a 2007 car accident). I still have the jersey and letter at home. He just spoke about the importance of sport, and how you get no better help than you will from your hurling club and the GAA, that they were there for him and they\u2019ll be there for me. He heard I was a young and aspiring hurler, and just to keep at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI shook his hand after the 2015 final and told him I never forgot what he sent up to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The young and aspiring hurler is now a retired League, Leinster, and All-Ireland winner. In a winter of much change, he married his fiancee, R\u00f3is\u00edn, a month after closing his Galway chapter.<\/p>\n
Matchday visits to Paul\u2019s grave are now connected to his ongoing journey in the black and red of Tommy Larkins.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing over there on the morning of a game, I just find it helps me. I did it when I was younger and I stuck to it. You\u2019re not really looking for much. You\u2019re not asking for anything. Just say a little prayer and hope everything goes well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s days where you might not even say anything or think of anything when you go over, but I guess it grounds me, sets out my stall for the day, and why I am doing it and who I am doing it for.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The matchday visits to Ballinakill cemetery have become less frequent. His maroon chapter recently closed, Jason Flynn\u2019s routine…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485467,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[177329,30883,1965,85426,61,60,112],"class_list":["post-485466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-championship-2026","tag-galway-gaa","tag-hurling","tag-leinster-gaa","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}