Former Tribesman captain David Collins: Glynn faces big call on future

By Paul Keane

Former Galway captain David Collins reckons Jonathan Glynn will have a big decision to make about his inter-county career after the All-Ireland final.

Glynn works as a project manager for a construction firm in New York and has maintained that role despite featuring in the 2017 and 2018 Championships for Galway.

He initially left for the States after the 2015 final and played for the New York footballers in 2016 before agreeing to commute back and forth last summer.

Galway manager Micheal Donoghue said at the launch of this year’s Championship in April that that arrangement was “probably not an ideal situation” and that Glynn would remain in Ireland from then on this year. But Collins, who retired ahead of last season, said Glynn has been back and forth to New York this summer too and predicted that he will soon have to choose between New York and hurling with Galway.

Asked if Glynn could maintain the balancing act, Collins said: “No, I don’t think so. He’d love to keep doing it but if your career is suffering and you are trying to develop a life for yourself in the States, or even in Ireland, it’s not going to be sustainable because the demands are too high.

He’ll want to give every bit of blood, sweat and tears to the boys and when you’re not able to do it you nearly feel bad and it starts to cut you up yourself and you start to play poor hurling because you don’t feel you are doing enough and are not with the lads enough.

“I found that myself when I was still there, you wanted to be there all the time but you’d got a house and you’d got married and it (life) takes over.”

Glynn in action in the Leinster final replay

Collins revealed that Glynn parked any celebrations after the Leinster final replay defeat of Kilkenny to return to the US.

He was literally back (in America) the day after and he was back over for three days working,” said Collins. “I was chatting to him saying, ‘How are you feeling and he was saying, ‘I’m here in an airport, I’m just flying out’. He has a great attitude for such a young fella and I think that’s key to what Micheál Donoghue brought to it, he has got lads with real humility there.

Glynn started last year’s final against Waterford and looks set to retain his spot in the team after lining out in their last three Championship games. Collins described him as ‘key’ to their hopes of defeating Limerick though said it will be necessary to attack the Shannonsiders in a number of different ways.

“When Johnny Glynn wasn’t there it was a lovely sprayed ball into the corner to Conor Whelan, loose ball they were catching in the hand,” said Collins. “The gameplan shifted slightly after the first Kilkenny game when they had to bring Johnny Glynn to the edge of the square and lob high ball in. You see David Burke catching the ball and driving it in now.

“To beat Limerick I think they need to mix it up. They’re going to have to spray the ball into Whelan and if he doesn’t catch it, it’ll break off to Cathal Mannion who can pick off the easy scores. Cathal Mannion has had a fantastic year.

“So I do think they will drop the odd ball into Johnny because the strength and control of that man is huge but there’s got to be a few different plans. If they don’t have two options they’re going to be in trouble.”

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