Anthony Daly: Martin Flanagan was the soundest fella you could ever meet. He was great to me

Anthony Daly pays tribute to former Clare GAA groundsman Martin Flanagan, who passed away this week

Former Clare GAA groundsman, Martin Flanagan, who passed away this week. The Ruan GAA clubman served as the groundsman for Cusack Park and Ballyline for over 20 years. Photograph by John Kelly/The Clare Champion.

Before Dublin played Clare in the 2012 All-Ireland qualifiers in Ennis, I knew I was facing into an emotive tornado. And I walked straight into the teeth of it.

We based ourselves in the Temple Gate Hotel, right in the middle of Ennis, which rests on the site of a 19th-century Convent of Mercy. When my father played in the 1949 county final, the teams togged off in the Convent before being marched up side by side to Cusack Park.