John Flanagan receiving a presentation from Rachel Sloane at the DFC Trust Awards Night in November 2008.
A LIVING LEGEND is, very sadly, about to bid farewell to Dundalk FC and the League of Ireland. As most will know by now, defender John Flanagan announced his retirement from football last week, citing personal reasons behind his decision, and tonight will be Flano’s last ever match at Oriel Park.
Flanagan first signed for the Lilywhites back in 1999 and has been at Oriel ever since, bar taking a two-and-a-half year break away from the club in 2003. In his time with Dundalk, he won a First Division title in 2001 and an FAI Cup twelve months later. In total, he has made 198 competitive club appearances, scoring 23 goals along the way, and is likely to make it 200 on the final day of the season in Kildare next week.
Flano had first hinted at retirement in an interview back in August. “I think at the end of the year, I’ll have to reassess my own situation,” he said, “and see where I go from here – whether I hang the boots up or whether I play on. Probably the fact that I have a family, and commitment wise, it’s very tough at the moment. I’m playing in the league now 13 years and it does take its toll on you. I’m picking up niggles now that I hadn’t been doing. I haven’t played pain free now for probably about two years. It’s something I think I’ll have to talk to my wife about at the end of the season, and see where we stand. We’ll talk about it at the end of the year, but, at this stage, it’s 50/50, to be honest.”
However, unfortunately, that toss of a coin has fallen on the wrong side for Dundalk fans. Confirmation of his retirement came in a piece that Flano wrote exclusively for this magazine last week, when he stated: “I think it’s just time to call it a day, so I can concentrate on my own life now, concentrate on my family and enjoy my kids growing up. I’m only 30, but I’ve been playing for 13 years and that’s a long time. I just want to enjoy myself now. Especially with the job I’m in (school teaching), I can’t take holidays outside of the given times, and my holidays unfortunately coincide with the football season, so I couldn’t even get a decent holiday over the last number of years. I’m just looking forward to relaxing now and enjoying my life.”
Flano also admitted in that previous one-to-one three months ago that winning the FAI Cup in 2002 is his most memorable career moment. “It was fabulous,” he said. “The league form as well that came with that was brilliant. With our run in the second-half of the league that year, we would have finished well up the table. We had such a horrible start. I think if you get a good run in the cup, it does buoy the club a lot. The atmosphere around the place changes and there’s a buzz and an expectation. I think that year, in particular, for me, I have very fond memories of coming back to the town after winning the cup to maybe 10-12,000 people. It was unbelievable and something that will always stick with me. Dundalk is a football mad town and the club itself has won the cup numerous times over the years. The people in the town really love the cup, and I think it showed that day when we went to Tolka Park. I think we nearly outnumbered Bohs fans 2:1. That day was just phenomenal. The support was unbelievable, and I think it was unrivalled by anybody else in the country.”
John began his League of Ireland career with his hometown club, Drogheda United, in the 1995/96 season when he made his debut under Jim McLaughlin in their ill-fated Premier Division campaign. The following season saw Flano, along with seven other Youth team members, work under Liam O’Brien and Anto Whelan in the second tier, and he netted his first senior goal with his sole strike in 15 outings for the Boynesiders, as they made a swift return to the top flight. John didn’t go with them, however, after being released by Martin Lawlor. He instead joined Monaghan United, where he made 13 appearances before ending a short spell there by renewing acquaintances with Liam O’Brien at First Division side, Home Farm.
An unsuccessful season saw the club finish ninth. O’Brien soon left, but not before he had told then Dundalk boss Terry Eviston to take Flanagan to Oriel Park. Flano arrived for training at the border club and instantly impressed. He was an eye-catching acquisition to the side, as he forged a strong midfield partnership with David Hoey and made 34 appearances in all competitions, during a year which ended in the controversial Fran Carter saga. In one of his first appearances for the club, on 15 October 1999, John struck a hat-trick in a 3-0 victory over Saint Francis at John Hyland Park. Despite that early goal haul, however, he went on to score just two more in the remainder of that season, as Dundalk failed by a single placing to make it into the ‘Promotion/Relegation Playoff’ with Waterford United.
John remained at the club for the following year and, under new manager Martin Murray, played a key role in Dundalk’s First Division title winning team, making 34 league appearances, five of which came as a substitute. In a year that saw the Lilywhites battle back to overtake Athlone Town from what looked an almost unassailable lead, Flanagan was instrumental, firing seven goals from his midfield berth. Two of those in particular proved crucial, as at home to both Drogheda and Waterford, Flanagan fired the only goal in 1-0 wins. He is also one of just two players now at the club to take part in the 1-0 FAI Cup loss to non-league Portmarnock on April Fool’s Day in 2001. The other is David Crawley.
2001/02 saw John return to the Premier League but it proved a bittersweet season as Dundalk mixed relegation with an FAI Cup triumph. He made 25 appearances in the league campaign and scored three goals, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a painful demotion in Monaghan on 31 March 2002. Seven days later, Flano entered the cup decider with Bohemians at Tolka Park and, alongside Ciaran Kavanagh in the middle of the park, he played a key role in Dundalk lifting the Blue Riband for a ninth time. That appearance meant Flanagan was one of only four of the squad to have played a part in all seven matches on the way to the cup win. The following season saw the Lilywhites widely tipped to make a quick return to the Premier Division, but following an indifferent start and the resignation of Martin Murray, John fell out of favour under new boss Trevor Anderson.
Flano has admitted that he was pushed out of the club he loved by Anderson, and had no choice but to make a return to Drogheda United at the beginning of 2003. There, he spent two seasons in the top flight, making 42 appearances and scoring one goal, before he was forced to leave the south Louth club after they decided to go full-time. John was unwilling to give up his teaching career and so he made his way to Athlone Town in 2005, who were at the time managed by his friend, Stephen Kelly. However, Kelly was sacked midway through the season, and after just 16 appearances for the midlands club, Flanagan returned to a Jim Gannon led Dundalk in July 2005 after a near three-year absence.
He instantly became a regular in the side and made 18 appearances between then and the end of the season, before Gannon departed. John Gill arrived as the new boss and signed Flanagan for another year. He made 33 appearances during the 2006 season, scoring three vital goals on the league run-in, including a double against Galway United in Terryland Park on 20 October. Flano was again key to Dundalk pushing Shamrock Rovers all the way in the First Division title race, and he played in both legs of the ‘Promotion/Relegation Playoff’ win over Waterford United. That 3-2 aggregate victory turned out not to be enough to earn promotion, but Flanagan remained at the club for another season. He had been initially employed by Gill as a central midfielder, but soon moved to right-back as Dundalk struggled in the backline, a move which worked well. In the absence of Aidan Lynch, Flanagan captained the side 19 times in all competitions, while he was also chosen in the ‘PFAI First Division Team of the Year’ for 2006.
2007 saw Flanagan play in his seventh season at the club, and he headed his first goal of the campaign with an injury-time winner in the opening day 3-2 win over Finn Harps on 8 March. He went on to score a further four goals in the early stages of the season, however, his last goal of the year came on 17 May at home to Kilkenny City, as an ankle injury soon curtailed his campaign. Having played through the pain barrier for a number of games, Flano was forced to go for an operation in late July. Upon his return, on 30 August, he played two games at centre-half before easily displacing Stephen Quigley from the right-back position for the trip to Finn Harps on 14 September. Missing just one game, through suspension, between then and the end of the season, John again returned for the 2008 season. He has so far made 26 appearances (25 starts) – again missing matches only through injury and suspension – and scored four goals. His last goal, as usual, came via his head in a 3-0 win away to Longford Town on 28 July.
Everybody at Dundalk FC would like to sincerely thank John for his eight seasons of dedication to the club. His ultra consistent and at times heroic performances have been a joy to watch, and we wish him and his family all the very best in their future.
