Achievements

There have been many great achievements throughout our club.

No matter which county in Ireland you visit if you mention the name "John Lynch" to any of the gaelic football fans they will automatically know the man from Castlederg.

John Lynch joined the Tyrone senior squad as an 18 year old straight from the minor side in 1980. Damien O’Hagan and Noel McGinn were others who followed the same path in that year. But Lynch’s dazzling speed and fitness stood out above all the rest. That’s because he was combining a blossoming footballing career with a successful career as an athlete. Winner of many Donegal sprint titles as a member of Finn Valley AC in Ballybofey, he also qualified once for the National Finals. “I always had an interest in athletics, but I was persuaded to get actively involved by my girlfriend Christine, who is now my wife, and who was an international athlete.

John Lynch has been part of Tyrone teams since the seventies and throughout those glorious 1980s. He is accepted throughout Ireland as among the best defenders in gaelic football. In the 1986 GAA All Star awards, John reached the pinnacle of recognition when he won the award for left full back, the first time that such an honour came to this part of Tyrone. The success of the county team and this recognition of John Lynch’s part in it helped enormously to heighten the profile of gaelic football throughout this area. At club level, we believe that the high standards set by John at county level, encouraged all our young footballers, so much so, that in 1988 we became the first club in Tir Eoghain to lift the minor league and championship trophies in the same year.