Michael Lynch (born 1996/7) is an Irish

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

who plays

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

for Gaoth Dobhair (and formerly Naomh Colmcille) and for the Donegal county team. He is from

St Johnston St Johnston, officially Saint Johnstown ( ga, Baile Suingean), is a village, townland, and an electoral division in County Donegal, Ireland. It is in the Laggan district of East Donegal on the left bank of the River Foyle. It is in the civil pa ...

Playing career

Lynch played at midfield in Naomh Colmcille's run to the 2015

Donegal Intermediate Football Championship The Donegal Intermediate Football Championship (abbreviated as Donegal IFC) is an annual football competition organised by Donegal GAA. An Clochán Liath are the title holders (2022) defeating Naomh Columba in the Final. History The competitio ...

final, which the club lost to Réalt na Mara. He began the campaign as a substitute for the injured Ryan McErlean in the first minute of Naomh Colmcille's win in the quarter-final of that competition. Lynch played his club football in midfield for Naomh Colmcille before transferring to Gaoth Dobhair in 2020. The then Gaoth Dobhair manager Mervyn O'Donnell said Lynch had been living nearby since the start of 2020, had attended training and was close to fellow Donegal player Odhrán McFadden-Ferry. He had won the 2017 Donegal Junior Football Championship and

Ulster Junior Club Football Championship The Ulster Junior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played between the hundreds of junior football clubs in Ulster. There are nine county championships between the nine counties of Ulster. The nine winners go on to ...

with his former club. He scored three points (including one '45) in the Ulster Club JFC final. His transfer to Gaoth Dobhair led to a three-month suspension due to him playing for his new club before he was officially allowed to do so. Lynch is a former underage goalkeeper for League of Ireland

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team

Derry City Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. Under the management of

Declan Bonner Declan Bonner (born 11 August 1965) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and manager. He played at senior level for the Donegal county team, winning an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1992. He later managed the Donegal county team for tw ...

, Lynch became an understudy to

Shaun Patton Shaun Patton (born 1995) is an Irish goalkeeper who has played in that position in two different sports. A former professional soccer player in the League of Ireland with Derry City, Finn Harps and Sligo Rovers, Patton changed to Gaelic football ...

and Paul Durcan in the senior inter-county panel. He made his senior debut for Donegal against

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

in the 2020 Dr McKenna Cup. Lynch made a substitute appearance in the

2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 135th edition of the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament since its establishment in 1887. Tyrone entered the championship as the defending cha ...

qualifier loss to

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

, after regular goalkeeper Patton was shown a black card.

References

1990s births Living people Association footballers from County Donegal Men's association football goalkeepers Derry City F.C. players Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaoth Dobhair Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code Gaelic football goalkeepers Republic of Ireland men's association footballers People from St Johnston, County Donegal {{Donegal-gaelic-football-bio-stub