Cian Lynch (born 3 January 1996) is an Irish hurler who plays as a centre forward for Limerick Championship club

Patrickswell Patrickswell, historically known as Toberpatrick (), is a small town in County Limerick, Ireland. It is primarily a commuter village for people working in Limerick, including the nearby industrial suburb of Raheen. The population was 848 at th ...

, where he has held the role of captain, and the Limerick senior team. Recognised for his skill level and team play, he is widely considered one of the best players in the current game and has often been described as a "midfield magician". He is also one of only two players to win the 'hurler of the year' award more than once, with the only other player to do so being Henry Shefflin with three wins. Lynch began his inter-county career at minor level with Limerick in 2012, with whom he won back-to-back Munster Minor Championship titles in his last two years with the team. In 2014, he joined the Limerick under-21 team and was integral in the team's All-Ireland Under-21 Championship wins in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. Lynch joined the Limerick senior team for the 2015 season. He has since won four All-Ireland Championship titles, three Munster Championship titles and two

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

titles with the team. In 2020, he had a significant role in Limerick becoming the first team since Tipperary in 1961 to have a 100% winning record in all competitions in a single season. Lynch made his senior club championship debut with Patrickswell as a 17-year-old in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and has since established himself as one of the mainstays of the team. He was a member of the Patrickswell team that won

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

titles in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. Lynch has been named on the GAA–GPA All-Star Team and ''

the Sunday Game ''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 1 ...

'' Team of the Year three times each and the Under-21 Team of the Year twice. He was also named GAA–GPA Player of the Month in his first championship season and was GAA–GPA All-Star Hurler of the Year in 2018 and 2021.

Early career

Ardscoil Rís

Lynch first came to prominence as a hurler with Ardscoil Rís in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. Having played in every grade, he was just 15-years-old when he earned selection for the college's senior hurling team. On 27 February 2011, Lynch was introduced as a substitute when Ardscoil Rís won the

Harty Cup Harty may refer to: * Harty (surname), a list of people * Harty baronets, an extinct title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom * Harty, Swale, Kent, England, a village * Harty, a community in the township of Val Rita-Harty, Ontario, Canada * Dr ...

title after a 3-19 to 0-03 defeat of C.B.S. Charleville in the final. He was also introduced as a substitute in the subsequent 2-10 to 1-11 defeat by

St. Kieran's College St Kieran's College (Coláiste Chiaráin) is a Roman Catholic secondary school, located on College Road, Kilkenny, Ireland. History St Kieran's College was founded in Kilkenny, in the diocese of Ossory in 1782, after the passing of the Cath ...

in the All-Ireland final. On 22 February 2014, Lynch was captain of the Ardscoil Rís that defeated Scoil na Trionóide from Doon by 2-13 to 0-04 in the final of the Harty Cup.

Mary Immaculate College

During his studies at

Mary Immaculate College Mary Immaculate College (''Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál''), also known as MIC and Mary I, is a College of Education and Liberal Arts. Founded in 1898, the university level College of Education and the Liberal Arts is academically linked with the ...

, Lynch was selected as a forward for the college's senior hurling team. On 27 February 2016, he won a

Fitzgibbon Cup The Fitzgibbon Cup () is the trophy for the premier hurling championship among higher education institutions (universities, colleges and institutes of technology) in Ireland. The Fitzgibbon Cup competition is administered by Comhairle Ard Oideac ...

medal as Mary I won their first ever title after a 1-30 to 3-22 defeat of the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

. Lynch was at full-forward when Mary I retained the title in 2017 following a 3-24 to 1-19 defeat of Carlow Institute of Technology.

Club career

Lynch joined

at a young age, a club with whom his family had a long tradition. His six uncles,

Ciarán Ciarán (Irish language, Irish spelling) or Ciaran (Scottish Gaelic spelling) is a traditionally male given name of Irish origin. It means "little dark one" or "little dark-haired one", produced by appending a diminutive suffix to ''ciar'' (" ...

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

, Pa, Seán and Nigel Carey, were senior team mainstays during a golden era for the club in the 1980s and 1990s. After an unremarkable juvenile and underage career, Lynch was 17-years-old when he joined the club's senior team, stating: "I was in fifth year at school and was with the county minors. It was my second last year minor so I was only coming and going so I didn't play that much that year. I was kind of concentrating on the minor and my own age group." An undefeated run through the

2015 County Championship The 2015 County Championship season, known as the LV= County Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the 116th cricket County Championship season. It was contested through two divisions: Division One and Division Two. Each team played all the ...

campaign saw Patrickswell qualify for the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, with Lynch's side ultimately facing a one-point defeat by

Na Piarsaigh Na Piarsaigh Hurling and Football Club is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Fair Hill, Cork, Ireland. The club is affiliated to the Seandún Board and fields teams in both hurling and Gaelic football. History Located in the Fair Hill area ...

. For the second successive season, Patrickswell remained undefeated on their way to the 2016 County Championship final. Lynch scored three points from play and ended the game with his first winners' medal after a 1-26 to 1-07 win over Ballybrown. After two unsuccessful seasons, Lynch was appointed team captain in advance of the 2019 County Championship. After a third undefeated run through the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

in five years, Patrickswell qualified for the 2019 final. Lynch ended the game with a second winners' medal after scoring three points in the 1-17 to 0-15 defeat of

Inter-county career

Minor and under-21

Lynch was just 16-years-old when he was added to the Limerick minor panel shortly before the start of the 2012 Munster Minor Championship. On 2 May 2012, he made his first appearance for the team, scoring a point from left corner-forward in a 0-16 to 1-12 quarter-final defeat of

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. Once again eligible for the minor grade in

, Lynch was retained on the team by manager Brian Ryan. On 23 July 2013, he lined out at wing-forward when Limerick won their first Munster Minor Championship title in 29 years after a 1-20 to 4-08 defeat of

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

in a replay of the final. Lynch was appointed captain of the Limerick minor team in advance of the 2014 Munster Minor Championship. On 22 July 2014, he won a second successive Munster Minor Championship title after a six-point win over Waterford in a final replay. On 7 September 2014, Lynch captained Limerick to a 2-17 to 0-19 defeat by

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

in the All-Ireland final. Lynch was in his final year with the minor team when he was drafted onto the Limerick under-21 team for the 2014 Munster Under-21 Championship. On 4 June 2014, he made his first appearance for the team in a 2-20 to 1-14 quarter-final defeat by

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

. Lynch was again called up to the under-21 panel for the 2015 Munster Under-21 Championship, becoming the only senior panellist on the team. On 30 July 2015, he lined out at left corner-forward when Limerick defeated four-in-a-row hopefuls Clare by 0-22 to 0-19 to win the Munster Under-21 Championship title. On 12 September 2015, Lynch was switched to centre-forward when Limerick defeated

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

by 0-26 to 1-07 to win the All-Ireland Championship. He ended the season by being named in the centre-forward position on the Team of the Year. After a defeat by Tipperary in

, Lynch lined out in a fourth successive Munster Under-21 Championship campaign the following year. On 26 July 2017, he won a second Munster Under-21 Championship title in three years after a 0-16 to 1-11 defeat of

in the

Munster final Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

. On 9 September 2017, Lynch was at left wing-forward for Limerick's 0-17 to 0-11 defeat of

in the All-Ireland final. He was once again honoured at the end of the season by being included on the Team of the Year.

Senior

2015 season

Lynch was just 19-years-old when he was drafted onto the Limerick senior panel by team manager

T. J. Ryan Thomas Joseph Ryan (1 July 1876 – 1 August 1921) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1915 to 1919, as leader of the state Labor Party. He resigned to enter federal politics, sitting in the House of Represen ...

in advance of the 2015 Waterford Crystal Cup. He made his first appearance for the team on 17 January 2015, scoring three points from left wing-forward in a 2-15 to 1-15 quarter-final win over

. Lynch was a regular during the pre-season competition and ended the campaign by claiming his first senior silverware after a 3-20 to 1-16 defeat of

in the

. He was retained on the Limerick panel for the 2015 National League and lined out in all six of Limerick's games after making his debut on 14 February 2015 in a 2-16 to 0-22 draw with

. On 24 May 2015, Lynch made his first appearance in the Munster Championship when he gave a

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

performance in a one-point quarter-final win over

. He was later named as the GAA/GPA Player of the Month.

2016 season

Lynch was again included on the Limerick panel for the 2016 season, but missed the team's two opening games in the newly created pre-season Munster League. On 23 January 2016, he scored two points from left wing-forward when Limerick were beaten by

in the

. Lynch was a regular starter in Limerick's 2016 National League campaign and made six appearances in total, including at left wing-forward in the 3-23 to 1-18

semi-final A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

defeat by

2017 season

Lynch combined his

duties with Limerick's Munster League campaign at the start of the 2017 season. On 29 January 2017, he came on as a 60th-minute substitute for team captain James Ryan in a 1-21 to 1-20 provincial league final defeat by

. Lynch made five appearances for Limerick during the 2017 National League campaign, including at left corner-forward in the ten-point defeat by

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

in the

2018 season

Lynch was again named on the 38-man Limerick panel for the upcoming 2018 season, however, he missed some part of the pre-season Munster League due to

commitments with

. On 14 January 2018, he claimed his first senior silverware in three years when Limerick beat

by 0-16 to 0-10 to claim the pre-season tournament title. The subsequent

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

saw Lynch line out in all seven of Limerick's games. On 19 August 2018, he was named at right corner-forward when Limerick faced

in the All-Ireland final. Lynch scored a point from play as Limerick won their first All-Ireland Championship title in 45 years after a 3-16 to 2-18 win. Later that day he was named on ''

'' Team of the Year. Lynch ended the season by being named Hurler of the Year, while he also selected as midfield partner to

's Darragh Fitzgibbon on the All-Star Team.

2019 season

Lynch was again a regular for Limerick during the 2019 National League, playing a role in seven of their eight games. He scored two points from play when Limerick claimed their first

Division 1 Division 1 or Division One may refer to: Association football * Azadegan League, the second-tier professional football league in Iran * Brisbane Premier League Division 1, the second-tier professional football league in Brisbane, Queensland, Austr ...

title since

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

after a 1-24 to 0-19 win over Waterford in the

. Lynch ended the 2019 Munster Championship with his first provincial winners' medal after the 2-26 to 2-14 win over Tipperary in the

. He ended the year by receiving his second successive All-Star nomination.

2020 season

Lynch wasn't included on the Limerick team for the two

games of the 2020 Munster League. He was back on the team at midfield for the

against

on 11 January 2020, and scored a point from play in the 1-32 to 0-20 win. The subsequent

campaign saw Lynch lining out in three of Limerick's five Division 1A games. On 25 October 2020, he was again at midfield for the 0-36 to 1-23 defeat of

in the delayed league final. Lynch ended the 2020 Munster Championship with a second successive winners' medal after lining out in the new position of centre-forward in the

defeat of Waterford. He was again selected at centre-forward for the All-Ireland final against Waterford on 13 December 2020, ending the game with a second title in three years after the 0-30 to 0-19 win.

2021 season

Lynch was named on the bench for Limerick's opening

game of the 2021 National League against Tipperary. After coming on as a substitute in the 0-20 apiece draw, he was restored to the starting fifteen for Limerick's next three games against

and

, before dropping to the subs' bench for Limerick's final group stage game against

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

. After the team came in for criticism for a poor league start, Lynch stated: "It’s just about staying focused really and working hard every week, every game that comes your way. Just doing your best as a group and team. It’s just about driving on and we’re looking forward to the summer now." Lynch subsequently claimed a third successive Munster Championship title as well as being named

for his

performance against Tipperary. He was again named man of the match after claiming a third All-Ireland winners' medal in four seasons following the All-Ireland final defeat of

. Lynch was subsequently named GAA/GPA Player of the Month for the second time in his career.

Career statistics

Honours

Player

;Patrickswell *

Limerick Senior Hurling Championship The Limerick Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bon Secours Hospital County Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Limerick SHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Limerick County Board ...

(2):

Dr. Harty Cup The Dr. Harty Cup is an annual inter-schools hurling competition organised by the Munster PPS GAA division of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It has been contested every year, except on three occasions, since 1918. As the pinnacle of int ...

(2): 2011, 2014 (c) ;Mary Immaculate College *

(2):

;Limerick *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

(5):

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Munster Senior Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the h ...

(6):

, 2024 *

(3):

Munster Senior Hurling League The Munster Senior Hurling League is an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 2016 for the top inter-county teams in the province of Munster in Ireland. The series of ga ...

(2):

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the oneills.com GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). ...

(2):

Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Munster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-c ...

(2):

Munster Minor Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of ...

(2):

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Waterford Crystal Cup The Waterford Crystal Cup was an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 2006 to 2015 for the top inter-county teams and third-level institutes and universities in the province of Munste ...

(1): 2015

Individual

;Awards *

All Stars Hurler of the Year The GAA–GPA All-Star Hurler of the Year is a hurling award presented to the player voted as best in the country by all the players from around Ireland. It began in 1995 and honours the achievements of a hurler of outstanding excellence. K ...

(2): 2018, 2021 * All-Star Award (3): 2018, 2020, 2021 *''The Sunday Game'' Hurler of the Year: 2021 *''

The Sunday Game ''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 1 ...

'' Team of the Year (3): 2018, 2020, 2021 *All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final Man of the Match: 2021 * GAA/GPA Player of the Month (1): May 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Cian 1996 births Living people Patrickswell hurlers Limerick inter-county hurlers Alumni of Mary Immaculate College, Limerick All Stars Awards winners (hurling) 21st-century Irish sportsmen