Mickey Harte, left, and Offaly joint-manager Declan Kelly, second from right, with Offaly players, from left, Jack McEvoy, Jordan Hayes and Dylan Hyland at Croke Park last weekend. Photo: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
Mickey Harte is the very definition of a GAA manager who has been around the block. Brian Flanagan is only setting out on the senior inter-county carousel.
But Croke Park’s curtain-raiser – a more entertaining jaunt than the showpiece that followed – underlined several home truths about Harte’s enduring Midas touch and the age-old challenge that faces every Kildare manager.