"It was a big regret for me"

Seamus Flanagan regrets his “lapse in judgement” during the league clash with Cork in February – a moment that cast a shadow over his season.

The Limerick attacker was roundly criticised after lashing out at Niall O’Leary off the ball during the drawn encounter with the Rebels at Páirc Uí Chaoimh and, although he escaped a ban from the GAA, was sanctioned internally and sidelined following the incident, failing to get his season back on track thereafter.

“It was one moment in my career that I regret,” the five-times All-Ireland winner told the GAA Social podcast. “It was a lapse in judgement. We’ve all been in the heat of battle and said something or done something we shouldn’t.

“The aftermath on social media, I looked at every piece of it. I looked at every comment, with people calling me this and that. You're saying ‘if I just didn’t lift the hurley, would my season have gone differently?’

“It was probably the start of my downfall for the season. Other players came in and done really well, and I maybe lost touch with management because of it. I wouldn’t class myself as a dirty player, but it was a big regret for me.”