2022 was definitely a breakout year for Jack Glynn.
Winning a Connacht medal and then reaching an All-Ireland football final with Galway were the high points. And if that wasn't enough he was named the GAA GPA Young Player of the Year. One prize that did elude him, however, was a Sigerson Cup medal, this after UL lost out to NUIG in their decider.
A year on and Glynn is back with Limerick college, hoping to go one better. A three-point win over UCC on Wednesday, a surprising result in some quarters, has UL up and running. Glynn was absent for the absent for the Mardyke encounter; a groin injury has him on the sidelines for now.
In his words, he can't seem "to buy a break" when it comes to the Sigerson. Last year he broke his jaw in going shoulder-to-shoulder with Matthew Tierney during a Galway training session.
Glynn recovered and eventually would make many sit up by his performances on the Galway full-back line during that run to the All-Ireland decider, a game where he managed to curb the threat of Kerry's Paudie Clifford for about 50 minutes.
Speaking at the launch of the Electric Ireland HEC & Camogie Third Level competitions, the Claregalway clubman spoke about the art of defending.
"When you're playing at a high level with your county, you can’t mark every forward the same way. You can’t paint everyone with the same brush," he said.
"Different players, you’ve to play them different ways. Shane (Walsh) is very direct. You might have to play out in front of certain players or you’d have to play behind or from the side or you might have to be more aggressive with other types of players. It’s a fine art really.
"You have to know your opposition. When you know your opposition, you can plan how you go about defending and disrupting their game."
Over the last year Glynn played with the two best exponents of forward play in the country at the moment - David Clifford in UL - and county colleague Shane Walsh.
Glynn's analysis of the pair also highlights some differences.
"They are obviously both the best players in the game at the moment, but they both have different styles of play so it's kind of interesting," he added.
"When you're playing with David and Shane, you’d notice small little things. Shane would be fairly athletic, he could turn you on a half-pence. In terms of David, he’s so smart. It’s very insightful to see how different they are but how good they both are at what they do. It’s crazy how different they can be but still be at the top level of the game. Their different styles of play I suppose is something they’ll be talking about for years to come.
"They’re both unbelievable players but they play a different style to each other. Shane would be very athletic and he’s always taking on his man. He’s explosive. David then is out of this world, how skilful he is with the ball. Even seeing David play and Shane play, for me anyway, they’re different players."
Glynn went on to say that you can learn a thing or two from the duo
"The reason they’re at the top level of their game is the amount of practice they put in. You’d always see them behind after training taking extra shots and they’re always there before training. Ultimately, they’re players who are driving on the team.
"They take a leadership role as well along with being standout players. It was a great experience to be able to play with both of them and see how they both operate.
"You take little snippets from both of them in how to approach the game and how professional they are in terms of how they conduct themselves around the team environment and how they conduct themselves in training."
The 22-year-old also spoke highly of his county manager, stating that "Pádraig (Joyce) was one of the greatest to wear the Galway jersey".
Ahead of the league and championship campaigns, Glynn was full of the praise for the whole set-up.
"It's special to share a dressing room and get tips from a man who has won All-Irelands, also to have the likes of John Divilly and Cian O'Neill involved. There is a bankful of experience there; you take in everything they say. You're learning from the best. We've been back training since November and Pádraic is keeping a close eye on things.
The new format (championship) will be very exciting, but also tough with all the games coming thick and fast. It's going to be an experience alright. You will need a strong bench, we're working on getting a strong squad together.
Ian Burke is back. He's a very intelligent player, he has great experience. As a defender it's very insightful to see the way he plays the game. He's a great addition to the squad for the younger lads.
And of course there are a couple of Galway v Mayo games to come.
"There is a great rivalry there and everybody is looking forward to the game in the FBD, where the tickets are sold out. I'd say it will be the same story for the league game. It's great to have that as the first game."
