At club level he played with Mount Sion and was also a member of the Waterford senior hurling team.
Flannelly first came to hurling prominence at juvenile and underage levels with the Mount Sion club.
Flannelly's senior club career lasted nearly 20 years, during which time he won a record 15 County Championship titles from 18 appearances in finals.
[3] Flannelly's other honours include three Munster Championships, one National Hurling League and an Oireachtas title.
His Castlebar-born father, Matt, enjoyed a distinguished sporting career with the Galway senior football team and lined out in the 1919 All-Ireland final defeat by Kildare.