“Not much up there except for the Tumbling Paddies”

Aidan Flanagan delves into the dressing rooms he has been in…

Name: Aidan Flanagan.

Age: 22.

Teams played for:

St Patrick’s, Lisbellaw (hurling), Tempo Maguire’s (football) and Fermanagh (hurling).

Earliest GAA memory?

Indoor hurling at Cavancarragh taken by Benny McManus

Which team-mate has been the most inspirational and why?

John Duffy has been involved in the management of many underage teams that I’ve played in growing up and he knows how to get the team going before games.

Who’s the best team-mate to train with and why?

Francie McBrien, always trying to push standards.

Which team-mate is the worst to train with and why?

Ryan Bogue, he’s as miserable. Recently he was seen taking out the shampoo from his bag, squeezing a bit in his hand and putting it back in the bag before going to the shower so he wouldn’t have to give it out.

Which team-mate do you want to mark in training and why?

Luca McCusker, split my ear open one training and I had to get 14 stitches. Still yet to get him back…

Which team-mate do you dread marking in training and why?

JP McGarry, you’re guaranteed to come out of training with a few bruises from some questionable swings.

Best score you’ve seen from a team-mate?

Brian Teehan against Mayo. Collected the ball by the sideline on his own 21, took off and no one was catching him. Stuck it over by the sideline about 55 metres out.

What win has your team celebrated the most?

Lory Meagher 2021, some reckon Ollie McShea is still on the beer from it.

Which team-mate is the best on journeys away?

Tom Keenan is always entertaining in one way or another and Shea Curran always has a good story to tell.

Which club is the worst for journeys away?

Being the only club in Fermanagh means we have to play in the Armagh League, so most clubs are never a convenient journey.

What’s the funniest thing you’ve heard in training or in a match, and who said it?

Recently we were down on a training weekend in Waterford and we were playing a club team. At the end of the game the boy turns to me and says “Long way back up to Fermanagh now, not much up there except for the Tumbling Paddies”

What’s the worst excuse you’ve heard to get out of training?

At the end of training we were doing conditioning runs and one of the lads said “I’m dying to go to the toilet” (in PG terms). Convenient timing the worst of it was that they let him go.

Which team-mate is the loudest in the changing room?

Ronan McGurn, you’d hear him before you see him. He’s a manager’s favourite.

Which team-mate would you want standing over a last-second penalty?

John Duffy buried one top corner against Louth in Croke Park

Which team-mate would you never want to see hitting a last-second penalty?

Any of the back six including myself would be disastrous, I’d add Sean Corrigan to that list too.

Which team-mate is the most sensible?

Off the pitch: Rory Porteous, he’s a man by the book.

On the pitch: ‘Discipline Dan’ Teague, great record of cards throughout his career, make what you want of that…

Who is the smartest of all your team mates?

Book smart: Ciaran Duffy.

Smartest: Tom Keenan always has a smart remark or two.

Who’s the best team mate to celebrate with?

Odhran O’Connor is good value when he gets the permission slip signed (rarely). Ronan McGurn is worth mentioning too as long as Stand By Me doesn’t come on through the speaker, you wouldn’t want to be near him then.