Forget the festivities says Flynn, as focus turns to All-Ireland

It’s a brave man who will pick an argument with Jordan Flynn so when he issued a warning on Sunday to his teammates about their Christmas plans, you expect that they’ll take heed of their midfielder’s ‘advice’.

Flynn spoke to the press in the wake of Crossmolina’s win in the Connacht Club intermediate football final, which has secured them a place in the All-Ireland semi-final to be played on the opening weekend of January 2025.

“The journey definitely doesn’t stop. It’ll be a quiet Christmas. A couple of the boys won’t want to hear that but they’ll have to listen,” grinned Flynn, with a date against either Naomh Mearnóg (Dublin) or Caragh (Kildare), who meet in the Leinster IFC final next Sunday, to look forward to.

“This team could go anywhere. We won’t take the Leinster champions for granted, we understand exactly how good they’re going to be, but we also know how good we are when we want to be so that’s going to be our main focus. We’ll focus on ourselves and nobody else,” assured the county star.

Crossmolina Deel Rovers gave the best version of themselves in the first-half of Sunday’s match, leading 0-6 to 0-1 at half-time despite the very windy conditions at Dr Hyde Park. James Maheady and Fionan Duffy had scored three points apiece and matters further improved when Niall Coggins slammed home a goal inside five minutes of the restart yet the Mayo champions would end up hanging on by their fingernails, craving referee Christopher Ryan’s full-time whistle.

“It’s a hard one to put into words,” admitted Jordan Flynn. “I would probably be a bit more excited had we seen out that game a small bit better but it doesn’t matter, a win is a win. On a day like today it’s just about getting the job done and thankfully we got it done.

“James and Fionan were absolutely class. That strong breeze was swirling around the place and they were electric.

“Second-half, Paddy Leddy with a big hand, Niall Coggins again, he’s exceptional, four goals in four games. He’s been amazing for us and showed exactly how talented he is. That did give us a massive boost but Elphin certainly showed why they are county champions as well, they drove to the bitter end,” he admitted.

This was the fifth final Crossmolina have played in this year, after losing the North Mayo Sweeney Cup to Ballina Stephenites but winning Mayo SFL Division 2 and the Mayo Intermediate Football Championship after a replay. Sunday’s victory came more than two decades after the club won the last of its three Connacht senior titles.

“It’s something we didn’t turn our nose up to, we knew it was going to be tough and it’s just amazing to be the other side of it,” beamed Jordan Flynn.

“Being a county and a Connacht champion with the club is very special. There’s been a couple of dark days with Crossmolina in the last few years, but the man who’s over us now, and the backroom team, they believed in us and we believed in ourselves and it’s great to be able to push on.

“It’s been a struggle to win a county and then go on and perform in Connacht so to have it done is just an amazing feeling and something we’ll never forget.”