Kobe McDonald, Leah Maheady, Jordan Flynn and Jessie Brown pictured with the Sam Maguire Cup ©INPHO/Tom O'Hanlon

Jordan Flynn has revealed how receiving a red card in the 2018 All-Ireland U20FC final helped to make him a Sam Maguire Cup winner.

Flynn was sent off in the decider against Kildare at Croke Park and was banned for 18 weeks for pushing referee Niall Cullen before leaving the field. Looking back now, he says it taught him a valuable lesson.

“I probably took a lot of heat after that and it was obviously well deserved,” the Mayo star told reporters on Monday.

“I suppose now, getting to look back on everything, winning a league, a Connacht and an All-Ireland over the years as well, getting to look back on that moment and say I could have went one of two ways.

“I could have stayed away from football or whatever. In a strange way, I suppose it probably helped me a bit because at the time I was gone, I’d done a lot of partying, a lot of fun stuff.

“After it was finished, I was like, ‘I don’t really want to do any more of that. I’d like to give it a right crack’. Obviously now, when you’re sitting here talking as an All-Ireland champion, it’s definitely worth it. It was the right decision.”

"It definitely was a turning point for me as well.”

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