Clare in turmoil as backroom duo resign

GAELIC GAMES/Hurling Management crisis: The Clare hurlers have lost the services of team physio Colum Flynn and sports injury specialist Ger Hartmann, who have resigned from the county management set-up in controversial circumstances.

Flynn claims his position was undermined in recent months, while Hartmann claims a member of the management misconstrued personal information about the team.

Clare county secretary Pat Fitzgerald, who has been acting as a mediator on the issue, declined to comment on the details of the resignations, but Flynn and Hartmann yesterday disclosed their reasons for opting out, fearing not to could damage Clare's chances come the championship.

Flynn was first involved with the county in 1965, coming on board as a 22-year-old when few people wanted anything to do with training the Clare hurlers.

He was later involved with Galway's All-Ireland run of 1987-88, but was brought back into Clare by Ger Loughane in 1994 and has remained their specialist physio since.

He also introduced Hartmann to the Clare set-up, famously sending Brian Lohan to his then-Florida clinic during the 1995 All-Ireland winning campaign, and Hartmann and Flynn have worked closely ever since.

Flynn submitted his letter of resignation to Fitzgerald in December, with Hartmann also suspending his involvement while he awaited the management's reaction to that decision.

In the meantime, Hartmann voiced some concerns about the team preparation to Fr Harry Bohan, a Clare selector along with Andy Cunningham, and manager Anthony Daly, only to find those concerns misconstrued and then re-presented to Flynn as criticisms he, Flynn, had made.

"I have great respect for the Clare hurlers," says Hartmann, "but there's the principle of the thing here, and the way Colum was pushed out. In many ways, he's been made a scapegoat. To me, Colum is one of the best phyios around, and the best guy to strap a player in Ireland.

"A lot of different people will tell you that. And the county board know the value of Colum. But Colum hasn't even had the courtesy of a call. So, right now, I can't see a winning way out of this."

Flynn had originally requested his resignation be dealt with discreetly, but once Hartmann's comments were apparently twisted as those of his own, and he also resigned as result, the issue was bound to run.

This would have been Flynn's 40th year of involvement with Clare hurling, and while he was never once paid for his services, he's clearly moving on partly against his will.

"For a while there I just felt things were getting a little uncomfortable," says Flynn, "and I know certain remarks were made about me, that I wasn't really part of the set-up. That I needed to be watched, as if I was saying stuff outside the camp. Which was definitely never the case.

"The only contact I've had from the management was the letter full of innuendo and some serious accusations, which seriously irked myself and Ger.

"When Ger pulled out I think the alarm bells started ringing. But we're both gone from it now, and that's the way things stand."

Flynn said he hoped there wouldn't be any negative fall-out in the Clare camp as a result of the resignations, but added that Hartmann's loss would be felt hard.

"It's a difficult one, but it would be a pity if Ger wasn't there for the lads. I'd rate him the best in the world, and I don't know if Clare can afford not to have his services."

Both the management and the county board have been aware of the circumstances surrounding their resignation, but Fitzgerald, the county secretary, claims he is still awaiting clarification on the matter: "I'm always concerned about trying to get the best for the county and manage the business of it as best I can on a day-to-day basis. If there is something wrong then certainly I'll look at it and do the best we can to resolve it. All I can say at the moment is that we'll try to respond to whatever it is they have a problem with, and if they do come up front about it we'll try to answer it, but right now I'm not getting into it beyond that."

Hartmann says he's willing to sit down with the management as long as his solicitor is present, but for now the special access of Clare hurlers to his Limerick clinic is over.

"Professionally, if someone tries to see me I'm not going to turn them away. If Brian Lohan rang up with a hamstring problem I'm not going to let him down, but it could be a two- or three-week wait. I can't facilitate them the way I used to anymore."

Since 1998, Hartmann has set aside morning sessions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the Clare County Board, who, through Flynn, could send any players they wished. As late as last week the current Clare panel were under the impression Hartmann would remain part of the set-up this year.

For Loughnane, the man who brought Flynn back into the Clare set-up, the damage of the double resignations is inestimable.

"Colum was involved with Clare hurling long before I got involved," says Loughnane, "and was actually physical trainer for many years. But when I finally came in as manager he was the only person from the older regime that I even contemplated bringing back, even though he had been more or less forced out before and, of course, ended up with Galway.

"And I've said it several times that he was absolutely invaluable to us. He was a confidant for the players, and so much more than just a physio. So to see a man of such standing and such quality left out is disappointing.

"And a totally honourable man as well, while the rest of us might wheel and deal or whatever. To see him unhappy and feel badly treated is infuriating. But the long-term problem for Clare is the conduit that Colum brought to Ger Hartmann. At the time he just didn't work with GAA players, and was too busy with his athletes, but it was Colum who started that accessibility to Ger.

"And when he did take on the Clare team he worked some miracles, and I know got players back fit when he shouldn't have.

"If Clare now go forward without both of those the loss will be massive, especially as the injuries mount up over the year. These two go way beyond the physical thing. So I think it's an inestimable loss."