LAST MARCH KILDARE looked set to have Daniel Flynn available to them in this year’s senior championship.

The 20 year-old returned home from his AFL career with Port Adelaide due to homesickness and his grandfather’s health difficulties, just four months after leaving Kildare.

According to Eamonn Callaghan himself and the rest of the current panel were expecting Flynn to stay put.

“Yeah he came back alright he was obviously in Australia but he did come back for I think two months and he was training with us and he played with the U21 team in championship games. So we presumed maybe he was staying.”

“But he had a change of mind and decided to go back, which is completely understandable for a young lad in his position.”

Flynn, who made his championship debut last summer, rejoined the Kildare senior panel last March and even lined out for the U21 team in their Leinster championship defeat to Offaly.

He returned though to Port Adelaide in early May, with the club having left the door open for his return from the offset.

Flynn in his debut season last year. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

Flynn started all of last year’s senior championship games for the Lilywhites, as well as winning the 2013 Leinster U21 title.

“It was his first year last year and he just burst on to the scene and I was kind of looking forward to seeing how that would develop over a couple of years when he got a bit more experience, but look at it he’s over there in Australia now and hopefully he’s enjoying it and he gets the most out of it,” says Callaghan.

“I think the majority of people understand what position they’re in, you know young fellas they’re in college maybe doing a summer job, and college mightn’t work out and the way things are over here they mightn’t get jobs. It’s very frustrating for them as well so I don’t think the supporters would have any real issue with it.”

Kildare players have really caught the attention of the AFL scouts in recent years, with Paul Cribbin playing in Collingwood from 2010 to 2012, and the likes of Sean Hurley being a constant attendee at recent AFL combine trials.

“I’m not really sure what their plan is but obviously we can’t afford to be losing too many lads. It’s their choice at the end of the day what they want to do but from a Kildare perspective we don’t want to be losing too many more players. We have a good base of young lads who did well in the U21 championship last year and are getting more experienced so we’d like to hold on to them.

“From a GAA perspective you want to keep your best players playing the game over here and you want to encourage them to stay and giving them some kind of way of staying here would be great.”

End of an era as Doyle followed manager Kieran McGeeney in leaving the Kildare panel this year. Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO

Another man Kildare will have to manage without, both in this Sunday’s Leinster championship opener with Louth and beyond, is Johnny Doyle.

Doyle played for Kildare for fifteen consecutive years before hanging up his boots at the end of this year’s league campaign. The former All-Star will be sorely missed according to his once teammate Eamonn Callaghan.

“It’s strange not having him around the dressing room, ever since I’ve been here he’s always been around obviously. It will be a bit weird him not being there I suppose, and alongside Ronan Sweeney and Dermot Earley they’re not going to be around this year either for the first time and Morgan O’Flaherty isn’t around either.

“So it’s four very experienced players there, and four great lads to have in the dressing room for these championship games which we don’t have anymore. But every team evolves so we’re just looking for other lads to step up – and we do have other lads with a good bit of experience still in the squad.”

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