Colin Lynch

Colin Lynch (born 1973) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling and Gaelic football with his local clubs Kilmaley and Lissycasey, and was a member of the Clare senior inter-county hurling team from 1997 until 2008.

Playing career

Club

Colin played for Éire Óg ever before he played for Kilmaley. Lynch plays his club hurling with his local club Kilmaley and has enjoyed much success.

In 1998 Lynch lined out in his first county senior championship final. The famous St. Joseph's Doora-Barefield club provided the opposition, however, Kilmayley still came up short and Lynch ended up on the defeated side.

The following year Kilmaley were back in the junior hurling decider. Clonlara were the opponents on that occasion, however, for the second time Lynch's side faced defeat.

2004 saw Kilmaley finally break the barrier at senior level when they lined out against St. Joseph's in the senior championship decider. Lynch's side triumphed that day to collect their first senior county title since 1985.

Lynch also played Gaelic football with his local club Lissycasey and enjoyed much success. He won a county intermediate championship winners' medal in 1994, however, success at senior level was slow in coming. After defeat in senior county finals in 1998 and 2006, Lynch won a county senior championship winners' medal in 2007, following a five-point victory over Éire Óg.

Inter-county

Lynch first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Clare senior team in 1994. He was included on the senior panel that year, however, it would be another few years before he secured a definite place on the starting fifteen.

Lynch made his debut in a Munster Championship quarter-final against Kerry in 1997. Clare had an easy win that day. A subsequent victory over Cork gave Lynch the chance to line out in his first Munster final. Tipperary were the opponents on that occasion and an exciting game was expected. Both sets of players did not disappoint. Clare led by five points at half-time, however, Tipp fought back in the second-half. In one of the best games of the decade Clare defeated Tipperary by 1–18 to 0–18. It was Lynch's first Munster winners' medal and Clare's first ever victory over Tipperary in the provincial decider. Clare were now hot favourites to reclaim the All-Ireland title. They showed their class against Kilkenny in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final, thus booking their place in the All-Ireland final. The introduction of the so-called 'back-door system' saw Tipperary provide the opposition in that game. For the second time that year both sides served up a classic. Clare had the upper-hand for much of the game, however, Tipp remained close behind. Liam Cahill and Eugene O'Neill scored two goals for Tipp in the last ten minutes to set up an exciting finish. A draw looked likely, however, a classic late point from Jamesie O'Connor secured a narrow 0–20 to 2–13 victory for Clare. It was Lynch's first All-Ireland winners' medal. In winning the 1997 All-Ireland title Clare beat Cork, Kilkenny and Tipperary (twice) – the so-called big three of hurling. In doing so they became only the second team ever, along with Waterford in 1959, to achieve this.

In 1998 Clare were the hot favourites to retain their All-Ireland title. All was going to plan, however, Lynch's side drew with Waterford in the Munster final. The replay was one of the most controversial games of hurling ever played. Before the sliotar had even been thrown in, Lynch was pulling recklessly across Peter Queally and Tony Browne. A melee ensued two minutes into the game and Lynch punched Browne. Brian Lohan and Michael White were red-carded for also fighting, however, Lynch escaped being sent to the line. The rest of the game was played in an extremely bad spirit and Clare emerged the victors by 2–16 to 0–10. It was Lynch's second Munster winners' medal, however, the game was subject to much media discussion over the following week. The Munster Council later suspended Lynch for three months. He was a huge loss for the subsequent three-game All-Ireland semi-final saga with Offaly, a marathon run of games which Clare eventually lost, thus surrendering an All-Ireland title which they had been hot favourites to retain.

The following few seasons proved difficult for Lynch and for Clare. In spite of the team going into decline, Clare still qualified for the Munster final again in 1999. By now the 'hurling revolution' of the 1990s was drawing to a close as the 'old order' returned. Cork provided the opposition on that occasion, however, Clare were still the favourites going into the game. An exciting contest unfolded with Cork's Joe Deane scoring a key goal after an excellent pass from Seánie McGrath. A score line of 1–15 to 0–14 gave Cork the victory and saw Clare surrender their provincial title for the first time since 1996. Lynch's side, however, still had a chance to reclaim the All-Ireland title via the 'back-door'. A defeat of Galway in a replay set up an All-Ireland semi-final meeting with Kilkenny. Clare were now on a downward spiral as Kilkenny secured a 2–14 to 1–13 victory thanks to D.J. Carey.

The next few seasons saw Clare exit the provincial championship at an early stage, while manager Ger Loughnane also departed. In 2002 Clare exited the Munster race at the first hurdle, however, the newly expanded qualifiers system saw Lynch's side record subsequent victories over Dublin, Wexford, Galway and Waterford to reach the All-Ireland final. It was Lynch's second appearance in the championship decider. Kilkenny were the opposition and there was no doubt in the pundits' minds that there would be anything but a victory for 'the Cats'. Henry Shefflin and D.J. Carey combined to score 2–13, while Clare's forwards missed two easy goal chances. At the full-time whistle Kilkenny were the champions by 2–20 to 0–19.

Lynch's side faced early defeats in the provincial championships of 2003 and 2004. The team regrouped in the latter year and forced reigning champions Kilkenny to a draw in the All-Ireland quarter-final. 'The Cats' went on to win the replay with five points to spare.

Provincial defeat was Clare's lot again in 2005, however, Lynch's side reached the All-Ireland semi-final via the qualifiers. Cork were the opponents that day and found life difficult with a primed Clare team countering their every attack. 'The Rebels' fell behind by seven points at the start of the second-half. A huge performance by Cork turned this deficit around and Lynch's side eventually went on to lose the game by 0–16 to 0–15. Lynch had a chance to level the game with seconds left, however, his shot went wide.

Clare reached the All-Ireland semi-final again in 2006, this time with Kilkenny providing the opposition. After a reasonably good performance Clare fell short again as 'the Cats' went on to win the game and later take the All-Ireland title.

In 2008 Clare ended their first-round bogey in Munster and reached the final of the competition for the first time since 1999. A resurgent Tipperary provided the opposition on that occasion and an exciting game was expected, however, Tipperary were much too strong for 'the Banner' county. The game was far from a classic as Lynch's side eventually lost by 2–21 to 0–19. This defeat was not the end of the road, as Clare later lined out against Cork in the All-Ireland quarter-final. Clare were the favourites against a Cork side that was seen as past its prime. The team justified their favourites tag as Cork trailed by eight points at half-time. The second half was a different story as Cork took control. At the long whistle Lynch's side were defeated by 2–19 to 2–17. This defeat marked the end for Lynch as he announced his retirement from inter-county hurling just before the start of the 2009 championship.

Championship Appearances

Scores and results list Clare's tally first. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Match report 1 18 May 1997 Cusack Park, Ennis Kerry ? 3–24 : 1–6 Munster SHC quarter-final 2 8 June 1997 Gaelic Grounds, Limerick Cork ? 1–19 : 0–18 Munster SHC semi-final 3 6 July 1997 Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork Tipperary ? 1–18 : 0–18 Munster SHC final 4 10 August 1997 Croke Park, Dublin Kilkenny ? 1–17 : 1–13 All-Ireland SHC semi-final 5 14 September 1997 Croke Park, Dublin Tipperary ? 0–20 : 2–13 All-Ireland SHC final 6 21 June 1998 Semple Stadium, Thurles Cork 0–0 0–21 : 0–13 Munster SHC semi-final Irish Examiner 7 12 July 1998 Semple Stadium, Thurles Waterford 0–0 1–16 : 3–10 Munster SHC final Irish Examiner 8 19 July 1998 Semple Stadium, Thurles Waterford 0–1 2–16 : 0–10 Munster SHC final replay Irish Examiner 9 6 June 1999 Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork Tipperary 0–1 2–12 : 0–18 Munster SHC semi-final Irish Examiner 10 12 June 1999 Páirc Uí Chaoimh Tipperary 0–1 1–21 : 1–11 Munster SHC semi-final replay Irish Independent 11 4 July 1999 Semple Stadium, Thurles Cork 0–1 0–14 : 1–15 Munster SHC final Irish Examiner 12 25 July 1999 Croke Park, Dublin Galway 0–0 3–15 : 2–18 All-Ireland SHC quarter-final Irish Independent 13 1 August 1999 Croke Park, Dublin Galway 0–2 3–18 : 2–14 All-Ireland SHC quarter-final replay Irish Examiner 14 15 August 1999 Croke Park, Dublin Kilkenny 0–0 1–13 : 2–14 All-Ireland SHC semi-final Irish Examiner 15 11 June 2000 Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork Tipperary 0–0 1–14 : 2–19 Munster SHC semi-final 16 3 June 2001 Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork Tipperary 0–0 0–14 : 0–15 Munster SHC semi-final Irish Independent 17 19 May 2002 Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork Tipperary 0–0 2–13 : 1–18 Munster SHC quarter-final Irish Independent 18 15 June 2002 Parnell Park, Dublin Dublin 0–2 3–22 : 1–8 All-Ireland SHC qualifier Irish Independent 19 14 July 2002 O'Moore Park, Portlaoise Wexford 0–3 3–15 : 3–7 All-Ireland SHC qualifier 20 28 July 2002 Croke Park, Dublin Galway 0–1 1–15 : 0–17 All-Ireland SHC quarter-final Irish Examiner 21 11 August 2002 Croke Park, Dublin Waterford 0–1 1–16 : 1–13 All-Ireland SHC semi-final Irish Independent 22 8 September 2002 Croke Park, Dublin Kilkenny 0–2 0–19 : 2–20 All-Ireland SHC final Irish Examiner 23 18 May 2003 Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork Tipperary 0–2 2–17 : 0–14 Munster SHC quarter-final 24 8 June 2003 Semple Stadium, Thurles Cork 0–0 0–10 : 1–18 Munster SHC semi-final Irish Examiner 25 16 May 2004 Semple Stadium, Thurles Waterford 0–1 7–19 : 2–15 Munster SHC quarter-final Hurling Stats 26 26 June 2004 Gaelic Grounds, Limerick Laois 0–0 7–19 : 2–15 All-Ireland SHC qualifier Hurling Stats 27 17 July 2004 Gaelic Grounds, Limerick Offaly 0–1 3–16 : 2–10 All-Ireland SHC qualifier Hurling Stats 28 25 July 2004 Croke Park, Dublin Kilkenny 0–0 1–13 : 1–13 All-Ireland SHC quarter-final Hurling Stats 29 31 July 2004 Semple Stadium, Thurles Kilkenny 0–0 0–9 : 1–11 All-Ireland SHC quarter-final replay Hurling Stats 30 5 June 2005 Gaelic Grounds, Limerick Tipperary 0–0 0–14 2–14 Munster SHC semi-final Hurling Stats 31 2 July 2005 O'Moore Park, Portlaoise Offaly 0–1 1–12 1–11 All-Ireland SHC qualifier Hurling Stats 32 10 July 2005 Cusack Park, Ennis Waterford 0–0 4–14: 0–21 All-Ireland SHC qualifier Hurling Stats 33 24 July 2005 Croke Park, Dublin Wexford 0–1 1–20 : 0–12 All-Ireland SHC quarter-final Hurling Stats 34 14 August 2005 Croke Park, Dublin Cork 0–0 0–15 : 0–16 All-Ireland SHC semi-final Hurling Stats 35 21 May 2006 Semple Stadium, Thurles Cork 0–0 0–14 : 0–20 Munster SHC semi-final Hurling Stats 36 18 June 2006 Cusack Park, Ennis Limerick 0–0 2–21 : 0–10 All-Ireland SHC qualifier Hurling Stats 37 1 July 2006 Parnell Park, Dublin Dublin 0–1 4–21 : 1–16 All-Ireland SHC qualifier Hurling Stats 38 8 July 2006 Cusack Park, Ennis Offaly 0–1 2–15 : 1–9 All-Ireland SHC qualifier Hurling Stats 39 23 July 2006 Croke Park, Dublin Wexford 0–0 1–27 : 1–15 All-Ireland SHC quarter-final Irish Examiner 40 13 August 2006 Croke Park, Dublin Kilkenny 0–0 1–16 : 2–21 All-Ireland SHC semi-final Irish Examiner 41 27 May 2007 Semple Stadium, Thurles Cork 0–0 1–11 : 1–18 Munster SHC quarter-final RTÉ Sport 42 7 July 2007 Cusack Park, Ennis Galway 0–2 2–10 : 0–14 All-Ireland SHC qualifier 43 14 July 2007 O'Moore Park, Portlaoise Laois 1–0 2–14 : 1–11 All-Ireland SHC qualifier 44 29 July 2007 Croke Park, Dublin Limerick 0–2 1–16 : 1–23 All-Ireland SHC quarter-final 45 1 June 2008 Gaelic Grounds, Limerick Waterford 0–0 2–26 : 0–23 Munster SHC quarter-final RTÉ Sport 46 22 June 2008 Semple Stadium, Thurles Limerick 0–1 4–12 : 1–16 Munster SHC semi-final 47 13 July 2008 Gaelic Grounds, Limerick Tipperary 0–3 0–19 : 2–21 Munster SHC final RTÉ Sport 48 27 July 2008 Semple Stadium, Thurles Cork 0–0 2–17 : 2–19 All-Ireland SHC quarter-final Irish Examiner

Honours

Kilmaley Clare Senior Hurling Championship: Winner (1): 2004 Runner-up (1): 1998 Clare Junior Hurling Championship: Winner (2): 2001, 2006 Runner-up (2): 1999, 1996

Lissycasey Clare Senior Football Championship: Winner (1): 2007 Runner-up (2): 1998, 2006 Clare Intermediate Football Championship: Winner (1): 1994 Clare Junior Football Championship: Winner (1): 1992

Clare All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Winner (1): 1997 Runner-up (1): 2002 Munster Senior Hurling Championship: Winner (2): 1997, 1998 Runner-up (1): 1999, 2008 All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship: Winner (1): 1993 Munster Junior Hurling Championship: Winner (1): 1993 National Hurling League: Winner (0): Runner-up (2): 2001, 2005

Munster Railway Cup: Winner (1): 1997 Runner-up (1): 2004