A WELL-DOCUMENTED incident in a drawn National Hurling League outing with Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoímh back in February is a moment of regret from the ongoing career of Limerick hurling star Séamus Flanagan.
Match officials didn’t act, but the multiple All-Star recipient was sanctioned internally.
“It was one moment in my career that I regret,” Flanagan said on the GAA Social podcast with the BBC for whom he was on punditry duty for Sunday’s All-Ireland Senior Final between Tipperary and Cork.
“It was a lapse in judgement. We’ve all been in the heat of battle and said something or done something we shouldn’t.”
Flanagan said he read every comment on social media afterwards.
“The aftermath on social media, I looked at every piece of it. I looked at every comment, with people calling me this and that,” he said.
“You’re saying ‘if I just didn’t lift the hurley, would my season have gone differently?’”
He continued that “it was probably the start of my downfall for the season. Other players came in and done really well, and I maybe lost touch with management because of it”.
“I wouldn’t class myself as a dirty player, but it was a big regret for me.”
Flanagan added that he feels inside forwards aren’t protected by officials and that played a role in the incident.
“There’s so much off the ball that you have no control over. You’re getting verbal abuse, physical abuse. I’m well able to give it, but it’s one of the moments in my career that I regret the most,” he said.