Seán Flannery was born on 11th October 1979 in Sligo. He attended Summerhill College in Sligo and was one of the stars of the soccer team. They won the All-Ireland Schools Soccer Cup in 1997, 3-2 after extra time in Sligo against Colaiste Spioraid Naomh from Cork (Seán scored 2 of the goals); and they won the All-Ireland Youth Soccer Inter-League Cup with Sligo-Leitrim in 1998, beating Wexford in the final in Sligo, 2-0 (Seán scored both goals).
Seán is one of the few players who has managed to reach national standard in the diverse disciplines of Gaelic Football and Soccer, and his impressive tally of scores is a clear testament of his talent.
He started Gaelic Football with his local club Drumcliffe / Rosses Point before turning out to play for his county. He played for the Minor, U-21 and Senior Gaelic Football teams,most notably in 1999, 2001, 2005 and 2008, and scored over a dozen points in as many appearances.
He joined Sligo Rovers Football Club in 1997 and scored over 40 goals in approx 140 games during his playing career of 10 years. Sligo Rovers won the League Cup in 1997. Other notable seasons were 2001 when Seán scored 10 goals as team captain, and 2005 when he scored another 10 goals to help the team win the First Division Championship. He also netted 3 goals for Finn Harps in 2003.
Seán attended the University of Limerick, and qualified with a National Certificate, National Diploma and Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Health and Fitness. He currently runs the very popular Seán Flannery Health and Fitness studio in Rathcormac, just north of Sligo Town, and regularly competes in gruelling endurance races. He has run the Dublin Marathon twice (PB 3:14), and completed the Ironman Triathlon in 2011 (Klagenfurt, Austria - 11:02) and 2012 (Nuremburg, Germany - 10:53).
[his portrait is illustrated above, representing Sligo GAA and Sligo Rovers - courtesy of Sligo Rovers and www.sportsfile.com, with great thanks]