Exuberance of youth keeps Flanagan flying

It is a tale of contrasting fortunes. Three weeks ago in the All-Ireland U21 semi-final, Clare full-forward Aaron Cunningham was forced from the field with a serious hamstring tear.

They still won the game and qualified for this afternoon’s final against Antrim, but for Cunningham it was a dark day. He misses not just today’s U21 final but also had to sit out the drawn All-Ireland senior final against Cork last Sunday.

His replacement on the senior panel of 26? Clare U21 corner-back and captain Paul Flanagan.