Dublin are beatable, insists Flynn

Kildare forward Daniel Flynn expects Dublin's long unbeaten run in the Championship to come to an end next summer.

Dublin's 36-match unbeaten run in all competitions came to an end in April when they were beaten 0-20 to 1-16 by Kerry in the National League final in Croke Park.

But the three-in-a-row All Ireland champions are still kings of the Championship, unbeaten in 20 matches since their 3-14 to 0-17 All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Donegal in August 2014.

Kildare were beaten by nine points by Dublin in this year's Leinster final, but All-Star nominee Flynn says the Lilywhites, and Mayo in the All-Ireland final, showed enough to suggest that Jim Gavin's side could be toppled next summer.

"I can’t see a reason why anyone can't beat them," Flynn said after Tuesday's Top Oil Leinster Schools 'A' football championship draw.

"There's no obstacle to us beating them, other than the fact that they are very good.

"It's a bit like the four-minute mile - no one could beat the four-minute mile and then Roger Bannister beat it and soon everyone started beating it. 

"That's a good way of looking at it. We had huge belief going into the Leinster final that we were going to beat Dublin. I think that's the right way to go at them, to go and play football.

“Mayo had it [in their one-point All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin on 17 September], we had it. Those two games were similar.

"Mayo obviously pushed them a lot closer than we did but the styles of the games were similar.

"We went out and played football, rather than trying not to lose. Sometimes teams are nearly beaten before they go out."

Flynn, 23, says he is now enjoying life back in Ireland after failing to settle during his year in Australia with AFL side Port Adelaide in 2014.

"I had a small bit of regret for a little while, maybe a year," he said.

"It was hard to settle back in, job-wise, knowing what to do with yourself, when everyone else had gone two or three years ahead.

"I’m in college now, doing Accounting and Finance in Maynooth, just after getting a job with KPMG after I finished, so it's all working out for me, hopefully. 

"But there was a 'what if' sort of thing. That was the big doubt with me over whether I'd made the right call. 

"But the football is going well here, my life is going well. I'm on that upward curve getting to where I want to be."

Missing the Championship already? eir Sport will broadcast up to 30 games from the GAA Football and Hurling Club Championships in 2017. Coverage continues on Saturday, 14 October on eir Sport 2 with the Dublin club football championship semi-finals between Ballymun Kickhams and Kilmacud Crokes [throw-in 5pm] and reigning Dublin champions St Vincent's and St Jude's [throw-in 6.45pm] from Parnell Park. Earlier on Saturday, the Meath Football Club Championship semi-final between Simonstown Gaels and Wolfe Tones at Pairc Tailtean will be shown live on eir Sport 2 [throw in 3pm].

Image: Inpho/ Oisin Keniry

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