A dog groomers life for Gráinne Flynn

They say what’s for you won’t pass you by. Football was never going to pass by Castlebar Mitchels captain Gráinne Flynn, that’s for certain.

Her father Wally Flynn, who played for Mitchels against Nemo Rangers. in the 1993 All-Ireland senior club final. He and her mother, Sharon, had her down training with Mitchels in the club’s embryonic years.

Indeed, few periods in their 24-year history have been as eventful as the roller coaster ride of the past 30 months.

With the peaks of county, provincial and All-Ireland intermediate semi-final success came the troughs of an All-Ireland final defeat in the spring of ‘22 and relegation from senior in the autumn of ‘23.

Gráinne Flynn, their workaholic, score-getting and go-getting forward of many moons, has been there through thick and thin.

“I’m one of the older ones, but there’s a great bunch of minors coming up and even the younger of the seniors we’re all pushing for positions and everyone’s fighting for positions,” she says, looking forward to Saturday’s county intermediate final.

She’s a leader and a driving force behind Castlebar Mitchels, but Flynn is also her own boss.

As the owner and founder of Gráinne’s Dog Grooming, that means she gets to take Mondays off after matches.

“It’s great flexibility to get my own time off that way and kind of work around myself. It’s more freedom with my job. You can put in what you want and you can work as long as you want.”

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She must be fairly good at it, considering that she’s booked out for the year. Or are people just gone silly?

“The way I’d describe it is they are treated better nearly than some humans,” chuckles Flynn. “I see them more regularly than some of my family, that kind of way.”

Spending Tuesday to Saturday washing and trimming pooches and Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday kicking ball sounds like great fun.

But Flynn says: “It is a tough enough job. That’s partly why I enjoy it and that’s the main thing. You are as well to keep going when you enjoy something. It’s not really worth it as such.

“In the evening’s it’s great to get out and get a bit of fresh air because you are stuck in a room all there. You could be in the room from nine and finish at half six and then get straight to the pitch, so it’s great that way.”

Does it ever quieten down? “No!” she laughs. “There’s always work to be done, there is always something.”

Playing under a well-organised management team headed by ex-Mitchels footballer Russell Gibbons, Flynn appears to have it sorted both on and off the field.

“I think it just kind of sets us up well as the lads expect what the lads get for us, which is only right because it’s a ladies setup. It’s great that we are all just getting through to the same which is great in the club itself,” she says.

For a woman so keen career-wise and football-wise, she’s given Saturday’s showdown with Louisburgh surprisingly little thought.

“To be honest I’m literally just taking each game as it comes. I haven’t really thought outside it but it would be just great to get a win and a county title back after just having being relegated last year. To get up to senior, that’s where we want to be. The target is the final this year.”

READ: Mitchels must be wary of lethal Louisburgh