Derek Thomas Lyng (born 4 July 1978) is an Irish hurling manager and former player. He has been manager of the Kilkenny senior hurling team since 2022.

Derek Lyng
Personal information
Irish name Deiric Ó Loinn
Sport Hurling
Position Midfield
Born (1978-07-04) 4 July 1978 (age 45)
Urlingford, County Kilkenny, Ireland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Occupation Account lead
Club(s)
Years Club
1995–2014
Emeralds
Club titles
Kilkenny titles 1 (Junior)
Colleges(s)
Years College
Waterford Institute of Technology
College titles
Fitzgibbon titles 1
Inter-county(ies)*
Years County Apps (scores)
2001–2010
Kilkenny 39 (0–36)
Inter-county titles
Leinster titles 9
All-Irelands 6
NHL 5
All Stars 2
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 17:56, 15 January 2015.

Playing career edit

Waterford Institute of Technology edit

As a student at the Waterford Institute of Technology, Lyng joined the senior hurling team during his second year but found it difficult to break onto the starting fifteen. On 28 February 1999, he won a Fitzgibbon Cup medal after coming on as a substitute in the 4–15 to 3–12 defeat of University College Cork in the final.

Emeralds edit

Lyng joined the Emeralds club in Urlingford at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. He enjoyed championship success in the minor grade before eventually joining the club's top adult team in the Kilkenny Junior Championship.[1]

On 31 October 1999, Lyng was selected at right wing-back when Emeralds qualified to play Carrickshock in the Kilkenny Junior Championship final. He ended the game on the losing side after a 1–06 to 0–08 defeat.

On 7 October 2001, Lyng lined out at midfield when Emeralds qualified for a second Kilkenny Junior Championship final in two seasons. He ended the game with a winners' medal following the 3–11 to 1–11 defeat of Windgap.

After more than a decade in the Kilkenny Intermediate Championship, Emeralds qualified for the final on 20 October 2013. Lyng was selected at right wing-forward and was held scoreless in the 2–12 to 2–11 defeat by Rower-Inistioge.[2]

Kilkenny edit

Under-21 edit

Having never played at minor level, Lyng first lined out for Kilkenny as a member of the under-21 team during the 1999 Leinster Championship. On 17 July 1999, he was an unused substitute when Kilkenny defeated Offaly by 1–17 to 1–06 to win the Leinster Championship.[3] On 19 September 1999, Lyng won an All-Ireland medal as an unused substitute following Kilkenny's 1–13 to 0–14 defeat of Galway in the final.

Intermediate edit

Lyng was drafted onto the Kilkenny intermediate team in advance of the 1999 Leinster Championship. On 17 July 1999, he won a Leinster Championship medal following Kilkenny's 2–15 to 0–09 defeat of Laois in the final. On 25 September 1999, Lyng lined out at right wing-back when Kilkenny faced Galway in the All-Ireland final. He ended the game on the losing side after a 3–13 to 2–10 defeat.

Senior edit

Lyng joined the Kilkenny senior team prior to the start of the 2001 National League. He made his first appearance for the team on 11 February 2001 when he came on as a substitute for Peter Barry at left wing-back in a 3–16 to 0–11 defeat of Laois. Lyng made his Leinster Championship debut on 10 June 2001 when he again came on as a substitute for Peter Barry in a 3–21 to 0–18 defeat of Offaly in the semi-final.[4] On 8 July 2001, he won a Leinster Championship medal as an unused substitute in Kilkenny's 2–19 to 0–12 defeat of Wexford.[5]

On 5 May 2002, Lyng lined out at midfield when Kilkenny faced Cork in the National League final. He scored a point from play and collected a winners' medal following the 2–15 to 2–14 victory.[6] Lyng was again at midfield when Kilkenny faced Wexford in the Leinster final on 7 July 2002. He scored two points from play and won a second successive Leinster Championship - his first on the field of play - after a 0–19 to 0–17 victory.[7] On 8 September 2002, Lyng lined out at midfield when Kilkenny qualified to play Clare in the All-Ireland final. He ended the game with a first All-Ireland medal following the 2–20 to 0–19 victory. Lyng ended the season by winning a first All-Star award.[8]

On 5 May 2003, Lyng won a second successive National League medal after lining out at midfield in Kilkenny's 5–14 to 5–13 defeat of Tipperary in the final.[9] On 6 July 2003, he won his third consecutive Leinster Championship medal after scoring three points from play in the 2–23 to 2–12 defeat of Wexford in the final.[10] On 7 September 2003, Lyng again lined out at midfield when Kilkenny faced Cork in the All-Ireland final. He scored a point from play and collected a second successive winners' medal following the 1–14 to 1–11 victory.[11] Lyng ended the season by winning a second All-Star award.[12]

On 12 September 2004, Lyng made his third successive All-Ireland final appearance when he lined out at midfield against Cork. He scored a point from play, however, Kilkenny suffered a 0–17 to 0–09 defeat.[13]

On 2 May 2005, Lyng won a third National League medal after scoring a point from midfield in Kilkenny's 3–20 to 0–15 defeat of Clare in the final.[14] On 7 July 2005, he won a fourth Leinster Championship medal following Kilkenny's 0–22 to 1–16 defeat of Wexford in the final.[15]

On 30 April 2006, Lyng won his fourth National League medal after lining out at midfield in Kilkenny's 3–11 to 0–14 victory over Limerick.[16] He won a fifth Leinster Championship medal on 2 July 2006 after scoring a point in a 1–23 to 1–12 defeat of Wexford in the final. On 3 September 2006, Lyng was again at midfield when Kilkenny qualified to play Cork in the All-Ireland final. He scored a point from play and claimed his third winners' medal after the 1–16 to 1–13 victory.[17]

On 29 April 2007, lined out in his fifth National League final. He scored a point from midfield in the 0–20 to 0–18 defeat by Waterford.[18] Lyng was sidelined due to a groin injury when Kilkenny faced Wexford in the Leinster final on 1 July 2007.[19] In spite of this, he claimed a sixth winners' medal as a non-playing substitute following the 2–24 to 1–12 victory.[20] On 2 September 2007, Lyng was back on the starting fifteen and lined out at midfield in the All-Ireland final against Limerick. He ended the game with a fourth All-Ireland medal following the 2–19 to 1–15 victory.[21]

On 6 July 2008, Lyng won a seventh Leinster Championship medal after scoring a point from midfield in the 5–21 to 0–17 defeat of Wexford.[22] On 8 September 2008, he was again at midfield when Kilkenny faced Waterford in a first All-Ireland final since 1963. Lyng scored three points from play and claimed a fifth All-Ireland medal following a 3–30 to 1–13 victory.[23]

Lyng collected a fifth National League medal on 3 May 2009 when he lined out as a substitute in Kilkenny's 2–26 to 4-17 extra-time defeat of Tipperary in the final.[24] On 5 July 2009, he was back on the starting fifteen in his usual position of midfield when Kilkenny faced Dublin in the Leinster final. Lyng ended the game with an eighth winners' medal following the 2–18 to 0–18 victory.[25] He retained his position at midfield when Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final on 6 September 2009. Lyng collected his sixth All-Ireland medal as Kilkenny became only the second team ever to win four All-Ireland titles in-a-row following the 2–22 to 0–23 victory.[26]

Lyng failed to command a place on the starting fifteen during the 2010 Leinster Championship. In spite of this he won a ninth Leinster Championship medal as an unused substitute on 4 July 2010 following Kilkenny's 1–19 to 1–12 defeat of Galway.[27] On 5 September 2010, he was selected on the substitutes' bench when Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final. Lyng was introduced as a substitute for Cha Fitzpatrick at midfield and scored a point in the 4–17 to 1–18 defeat.[28]

Lyng announced his retirement from inter-county hurling on 1 December 2010.[29] In a statement he said: "There is never an ideal time to do something like this, but the time is right for me now. I had a great innings. I played with and against some of the greatest hurlers who ever lived and I picked up a few honours along the way."[30]

Leinster edit

Lyng was first selected for the Leinster inter-provincial team during the 2002 Railway Cup. He made his first appearance for the team on 2 November 2002 when he scored a point from midfield in Leinster's 3–18 to 2–13 defeat of Connacht. On 3 November 2002, Lyng won a Railway Cup medal after scoring a point from midfield in the 4–15 to 3–17 defeat of Munster in the final.[31]

After being selected for the team again in 2003, Lyng lined out in a second successive Railway Cup final on 8 November 2003. He scored a point from midfield and collected a second successive winners' medal following the 4–09 to 2–12 defeat of Connacht.[32]

On 28 October 2006, Lyng was at midfield when he lined out in his third Railway Cup final. He was held scoreless throughout the game but collected a third winners' medal following the 1–23 to 0–17 defeat of Connacht.[33]

Ireland edit

Lyng was selected for Ireland team for the Shinty–Hurling International Series in 2008. He made his only appearance for the team on 18 October 2008 when Ireland suffered a 1–10 to 1–09 defeat to Scotland.[34]

Coaching career edit

Leinster edit

Lyng joined Johnny Dooley's management team with Leinster in advance of the 2012 Railway Cup.[35] On 4 March 2012, he was on the sideline when Leinster defeated Connacht by 2–19 to 1–15 to win the Railway Cup.[36]

Kilkenny edit

Senior edit

On 9 December 2013, Lyng was appointed as a selector with the Kilkenny senior team under Brian Cody.[37] He captured his first silverware as a selector on 4 May 2014 when Kilkenny defeated Tipperary by 2–25 to 1–27 to win the National League title.[38] On 6 July 2014, Lyng was on the sideline when Kilkenny won the Leinster Championship following a 0–24 to 1–09 defeat of Dublin in the Leinster final.[39] Following a 3–22 to 1–28 draw with Tipperary in the All-Ireland final on 7 September 2014, Lyng's side went on to win the title after a 2–17 to 2–14 victory in the replay on 27 September 2014.[40][41]

Lyng won a second successive Leinster Championship as a selector on 5 July 2015 following Kilkenny's 1–25 to 2–15 defeat of Galway in the final.[42] On 6 September 2015, he was again on the sideline for the All-Ireland final against Galway. Lyng ended the game with a second All-Ireland title as a selector following the 1–22 to 1–18 victory.[43]

Lyng helped guide Kilkennny to a third successive Leinster Championship on 3 July 2016 following a 1–26 to 0–22 defeat of Galway in the final.[44] On 4 September 2016, he saw his side suffer a 2–29 to 2–20 defeat by Tipperary in the All-Ireland final.[45]

On 8 April 2018, Lyng secured his second National League title as a selector following Kilkenny's 2–23 to 2–17 defeat of Tipperary in the final.[46] His side failed to retain the Leinster Championship for the fourth successive year following a 1–28 to 3–15 defeat by Galway in a final replay.[47][48]

On 30 June 2019, Lyng was on the sideline when Kilkenny suffered a 1–23 to 0–23 defeat by Wexford in the Leinster final.[49]

On 4 August 2022, Lyng was appointed manager of the Kilkenny senior hurling team.[50]

David Herity endorsed Lyng's appointment as Brian Cody's successor, telling Off the Ball AM that Lyng would be a different type of manager: "Derek would be nothing like Brian... Derek was always seen as one of the lads in the dressing room Brian approached before a match and gave a dig to and said, 'right get these lads going'. He was that kind of lad, along with a Noel Hickey or Henry [Shefflin]. He would have ticked a few boxes in what Brian Cody would look for in a player and leader. When Derek came in [as a selector], he was slightly the yin to the yang. James McGarry and Brian Cody would be similar enough in personality, stand-offish. They wouldn't show a massive amount of emotion or talk to players in that sense. Derek Lyng would've been the more friendly type".[51]

Under-20 edit

After stepping down as a selector with the Kilkenny senior team, Lyng was ratified as D. J. Carey's successor as manager of the Kilkenny under-20 hurling team on 14 October 2019.[52]

Lyng got his team off to a great start in 2022 winning the Leinster Under 20 Championship over Wexford by one point.[53] Lyng, followed this with All Ireland success as Kilkenny won the Under 20 Championship with a win over Limerick for the first time since 2008.[54]

Senior edit

On 4 August 2022, Lyng stepped down as under-20 manager as he returned to the Kilkenny senior team as manager.[55]

Career statistics edit

Team Year National League Leinster All-Ireland Total
Division Apps Score Apps Score Apps Score Apps Score
Kilkenny 2001 Division 1B 5 0-01 1 0-00 0 0-00 6 0-01
2002 Division 1A 7 0-04 2 0-03 2 0-03 11 0-10
2003 7 0-05 2 0-03 2 0-03 11 0-11
2004 8 0-01 1 0-00 6 0-03 15 0-04
2005 Division 1 5 0-08 2 0-02 2 0-01 9 0-11
2006 6 0-03 2 0-02 3 0-03 11 0-08
2007 8 1-10 1 0-01 3 0-02 12 1-13
2008 1 0-00 1 0-01 2 0-04 4 0-05
2009 0 0-00 2 0-03 2 0-01 4 0-04
2010 3 0-02 1 0-00 2 0-01 6 0-03
Career total 50 1-34 15 0-15 24 0-21 89 1-70

Honours edit

As a player edit

Emeralds
Kilkenny
Leinster
Awards

As a manager edit

Kilkenny

As a selector edit

Kilkenny
Leinster

References edit

  1. ^ "To Derek – thanks for the memories". Kilkenny People. 12 January 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  2. ^ Spillane, Trevor (20 October 2013). "Rower rally to land intermediate title". Kilkenny People. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Kilkenny's grand slam". Irish Times. 19 July 1999. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  4. ^ Breheny, Martin (11 June 2001). "Offaly merely Cat food". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  5. ^ Breheny, Martin (9 July 2001). "Kilkenny devour Wexford in game of cat and mouse". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  6. ^ "Cats toast dramatic win over Cork". Irish Examiner. 5 May 2002. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Kilkenny 0-19 Wexford 0-17 - match report". Breaking News. 7 July 2002. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  8. ^ "Kilkenny take seven All-Stars". RTÉ Sport. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Stunning Kilkenny snatch and grab raid". Irish Independent. 6 May 2003. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  10. ^ "Rampant Kilkenny retain Leinster crown". RTÉ Sport. 6 July 2003. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  11. ^ O'Sullivan, Jim (15 September 2003). "Kilkenny stand firm under Cork onslaught". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  12. ^ "Kilkenny dominate All Star hurling nominations". Hogan Stand. 15 October 2003. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  13. ^ "Cork savour sweet victory". Irish Examiner. 13 September 2004. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  14. ^ O'Sullivan, Jim (3 February 2005). "Reigning Cats fire warning". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
  15. ^ O'Sullivan, Jim (4 July 2005). "Kilkenny hold nerve and stumble over the line". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
  16. ^ O'Connell, Jerome (5 May 2006). "Shefflin goals shatter Limerick's title dream". Limerick Leader. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  17. ^ O'Sullivan, Jim (4 September 2006). "A glorious 29th for Kilkenny". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  18. ^ McEvoy, Enda (30 April 2011). "Masters of their craft do battle". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  19. ^ "Lyng and Fogarty return for the Cats". Breaking News. 27 July 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  20. ^ Canning, Ger (1 July 2007). "Result: Kilkenny 2-24 Wexford 1-12". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  21. ^ O'Sullivan, Jim (3 September 2007). "Cats cruise to 30th title". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  22. ^ O'Flynn, Donal (2 August 2008). "Wexford out to move on from little blip". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  23. ^ O'Sullivan, Jim (4 September 2010). "Classic Final: 2008 – Kilkenny 3-30, Waterford 1-13". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  24. ^ "Hogan goes extra yard of plucky Tipperary". Irish Independent. 4 May 2009. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  25. ^ O'Flynn, Diarmuid (6 July 2009). "Cats hold off Dublin's final charge". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  26. ^ O'Flynn, Diarmuid (7 September 2009). "Where there's an iron will, there's a way". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  27. ^ O'Flynn, Diarmuid (5 July 2010). "And so we still wait for that test..." Irish Examiner. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  28. ^ O'Flynn, Diarmuid (6 September 2010). "Thunder and lightning final". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  29. ^ "Lyng announces retirement". Hogan Stand. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  30. ^ Knox, John (1 December 2010). "Kilkenny star Lyng announces inter-county retirement". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  31. ^ "Eagle-eye Shefflin strikes gold for Leinster". Irish Independent. 4 November 2002. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  32. ^ "Leinster win Railway Cup in Rome". Irish Examiner. 8 November 2003. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  33. ^ "Comfy win for Leinster". Breaking News. 28 October 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  34. ^ "Hurling reputations thrown aside by brave young Scots". The Scotsman. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
  35. ^ "Leinster name teams and managers". RTÉ Sport. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  36. ^ "Leinster take interprovincial hurling crown". Irish Examiner. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  37. ^ Breheny, Martin (9 December 2013). "McGarry and Lyng join Cody as new selectors". Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  38. ^ O'Rourke, Steve (4 May 2014). "Kilkenny win third Allianz Hurling League in a row with last-gasp win over Tipperary". The 42. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  39. ^ Kelly, Niall (6 July 2014). "Kilkenny rule Leinster again after swatting disappointing Dubs". The 42. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  40. ^ Fogarty, John (8 September 2014). "Game of inches adds up to a thriller". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  41. ^ "Kilkenny too strong for Tipperary in All-Ireland final replay". RTÉ Sport. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  42. ^ Rooney, Declan (27 August 2015). "Kilkenny march past Galway to another Leinster win". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  43. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (6 September 2015). "Brilliant Kilkenny second-half showing delivers All-Ireland final win over Galway". The 42. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  44. ^ McGoldrick, Seán (3 July 2016). "Galway challenge peters out as Kilkenny claim 71st Leinster crown in familiar style". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  45. ^ Keane, Paul (5 September 2016). "Tipperary blow Cats away to take All-Ireland title". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  46. ^ McGoldrick, Seán (8 April 2018). "Kilkenny whirlwind blows Tipperary away as Brian Cody claims ninth league title". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  47. ^ "Leinster SHC final: Cats and Tribe must meet again". Hogan Stand. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  48. ^ Rooney, Declan (8 July 2018). "Galway retain Leinster crown after epic battle with Kilkenny". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  49. ^ O'Brien, Kevin (30 June 2019). "Wexford land first Leinster title in 15 years with thrilling victory over Kilkenny". The 42. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  50. ^ Fitzgerald, Paul (4 August 2022). "Statement from Kilkenny County Board: Manager Ratification". Kilkenny GAA. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  51. ^ "Herity on new Kilkenny manager's appointment". Hogan Stand. 5 August 2022.
  52. ^ Barry, Stephen (14 October 2019). "DJ Carey confirmed as selector in Kilkenny set-up for Brian Cody's 22nd year in charge". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  53. ^ Murphy, Kieran (9 May 2022). "Kilkenny hold off Wexford to win Leinster U20 hurling title". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  54. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (22 May 2022). "Drennan stars as Kilkenny claim All-Ireland U20 hurling final win over Limerick". the42. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  55. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (4 August 2022). "Kilkenny announce Derek Lyng as county's new senior hurling manager". the42. Retrieved 4 August 2022.