Mick’s proud memories of ’48

Michael Moynihan meets one of the stars of Waterford’s last All-Ireland MHC title success recalls a special day.

Mick Flannelly sits forward in the armchair. “It’s a long time ago now. Sixty-five years. We were only young fellas. I was serving my time as a printer with the Munster Express down on the quay — jobbing work, but regular hours. You could make training easily enough. We hadn’t interest in much apart from the hurling.”

Flannelly is talking about Waterford’s last All-Ireland minor hurling title. He captained the side to victory over Kilkenny in 1948, and his recall of that season, played a pensioner’s lifetime ago, is pin-sharp.