Anthony Lynch

Anthony Lynch (born 21 August 1977 in Ballyvourney, County Cork) is an Irish sportsperson.

Lynch first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork senior football team in the late 1990s.

In 1995 Naomh Abán won their divisional championship and subsequently reached the final of the county under-21 championship.

The opponents on that occasion were Mallow and a close game developed.

At the full-time whistle the victory went to Mallow, as their ability to score goals clinched a 2–9 to 0–12 win.

Lynch subsequently joined the Naomh Abán intermediate football team.

The men from 'the Kingdom' were on the hunt for a fourth successive provincial title, while Cork were out for success for the first time since 1995.

Cork's victory on a score line of 2–10 to 2–4 was unexpected as Lynch claimed his very first Munster winners' medal.

A subsequent defeat of Mayo saw Cork book their place in the All-Ireland final against Meath.

The pressure was on the Cork footballers to secure a rare double, particularly since their hurling counterparts had won the All-Ireland title a fortnight previously.

Ollie Murphy's first-half goal gave 'the Royals' a huge boost at half-time.

Immediately after the interval Trevor Giles missed a penalty while Joe Kavanagh responded with a goal which gave Cork a brief lead.

It was not enough as Lynch's side eventually lost the game by 1–11 to 1–8.

In spite of this defeat Lynch was later rewarded with an All-Star award.

He made his debut in the 1998–99 National Football League, a season which saw Cork reach the final of the competition.

Dublin provided the opposition at Cork's home venue, Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

A close game developed, however, Cork were never really troubled.

A 0–12 to 1–7 score line resulted in victory for 'the Rebels', and gave Lynch a National League winners' medal in his debut season.

Later that year he made his championship debut in the provincial series as Cork cruised to a Munster final showdown with arch-rivals Kerry.

He plays Gaelic football with his local club Naomh Abán and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1999 to 2011.

Lynch plays his club football with his local club called Naomh Abán in Ballyvourney.

Lynch first came to prominence as a member of the club's underage teams.

After the minor grade, he quickly joined the under-21 team.

In 1999 the club reached the final of the county intermediate championship, with Castletownbere providing the opposition.

A close game developed between these two sides, however, at the full-time whistle the sides could not be separated and a draw was the result.

The subsequent replay was also a close affair; however, it proved to be more conclusive.

In the end victory went to Naomh Abán by 1–9 to 1–6 and Lynch collected a county intermediate championship winners' medal.

After the highs of 1999, the following year proved disappointing as Cork exited the championship at a very early stage.

In 2001 Cork were back and Lynch lined out in his second provincial decider.

Reigning All-Ireland champions Kerry were the opponents.

The game was a reasonably close affair; however, 'the Kingdom' never looked like losing.

At the full-time whistle Cork were defeated by 0–19 to 1–13.

2001 was the first year of the qualifier system so, in spite of being defeated, Cork had another chance to battle for the All-Ireland title.

Lynch's side, however, were subsequently dumped out of the championship by eventual champions Galway.

2002 proved to be a more successful year for Lynch.

After defeating Kerry in the provincial semi-final, Cork qualified for a Munster final showdown with Tipperary.

While many people expected Cork to win the game easily, Tipp nearly sneaked a win, however, the provincial decider ended in a draw.

The replay was an absolute rout.

Cork won by a huge score line of 1–23 to 0–7, giving Lynch a second Munster winners' medal.

Cork's next game was the All-Ireland semi-final where they met Kerry for the third time in the championship that year.