Kerry Football Families

The Lynes of Killarney


by Matt Leen

The Lyne brothers of The Legion, Killarney; Jackie, Dinny, Mickey and Teddy - out of a family of 10 - were wonderful footballers. The most famous of the brothers was Jackie, a powerfully built athlete who came on the Kerry Senior team in 1944. Right half back was his favorite position, although he lined out in the forward position in the '44 AII Ireland final when Kerry lost to Roscommon. In 1946, when he won his first Senior AII Ireland medal he played a storming game in the no. 5 Jersey as Kerry defeated Roscommon after a replay. He played 34 senior championships games for Kerry and won his 2nd Senior AII Ireland medal in 1953 as a corner forward.

He was an outstanding club player and won 2 county championship medals in 1946 and 1949. He was ever present on the Munster Railway cup teams of that period, and captured 3 Railway Cup medals with them. When he retired from inter-county football,l he involved himself wholeheartedly with his club as coach, trainer and selector. Jackie was a wonder motivator on the field of play; he gave it everything, and he expected the same from the players he coached and trained. In 1969 and 1970, he proved he had the great qualities it takes to train AII Ireland victories over Offaly in '69 and Meath in '70. Two Killarney men captained these AII Ireland winning teams - Donie O'Sullivan of the Spa in 1970 and in 1969 when his fellow club man Johnny Culloty of The Legion lifted the Sam Maguire Cup in the old Hogan stand. There was no prouder man in Croke Park than Jackie Lyne. In Kerry's hall of fame, the great Jackie is up with best of them, many great men have won AII Ireland senior medals but very few have won them and trained fellow Kerrymen to win them also.

Dinny Lyne, brother of Jackie, first wore his Kerry jersey in 1938 as a minor, when Kerry were beaten in the AII Ireland final by Cavan. He won a Junior AlI Ireland medal in 1941, when Kerry defeated Cavan in the final. He made his debut on the Kerry senior team in 1944 and played a total of 18 championship games between 1944 and 1948. He won his only senior medal in 1946 at corner back when he played directly behind his brother Jackie. Dinny captained the Kerry team in the Polo grounds in 1947, in the only AIl Ireland that was played outside of Ireland, in which Cavan defeated Kerry. Dinny was a great club man and continued to play long after his inter-county career finished, he won his 2 county championship medals in 1946 and 1949. Teddy played on the unsuccessful minor team of 1936 which was defeated by Louth in the AII Ireland final. He won a junior AII Ireland with Dinny in 1941 when Kerry beat Cavan in the final.

Mickey or Canon Mickey was a gifted footballer also. He joined Jackie, Dinny and Teddy to win a county championship medal with the Legion in 1946. In that period he was in a seminary and missed out because he would not be released to play football. He spent most of his life as a priest in Glasgow and was very closely associated with Glasgow Celtic Football Club. In 1941 Jackie, Dinny, Mickey, Teddy, Donie and Tom lined out together for the Legion club that won the Donoghue Cup. Their sister Maura married Tom Spillane of Templenoe and their 3 sons, Pat, Mick and Tom hold the record at 19 in either hurling or football for the number of senior AII Ireland medals won by one family. AII in all, the Lynes of Cleeney, Killarney, were a wonderful sporting family who brought great honor and glory by their commitment and dedication to their club and county.

Tadhgie Lyne

With Dr. Crokes, Kerry and Munster, Tadhgie Lyne was a supreme artist. His wonderful fielding, blinding speed and uncanny accuracy ranks him as one of the greatest forwards the game of Gaelic football has ever known. With either foot, fifty yards was no problem for Tadhgie to score points from, at any angle. Pundits of the game rank Tadghie Lynes' unique ability and radar-like accuracy so high as to put him no.1 of all the great Kerry forwards who donned the green and gold over the years. Fitzgerald stadium, in his home town of Killarney, was his favorite pitch where he knew every blade of grass and scored some fantastic points even from the corner flag. He was always a promising athlete, and won Kerry U15 Athlete title in 1945. In '46 and '47, he won 2 Corn Ui Mhuiri with St. Brendans Sem. Killarney and won his only Kerry senior championship medal in 1951 with Dick Fitzgeralds. He started his senior career with Kerry in 1952, and from then to 1960 he graced all the great stadiums of Ireland with star - studded displays with Kerry, Munster and Ireland in representative games. He won his 3 AII Ireland Senior medals in 1953, 1955 and 1959. His greatest year was probably '55, with the historic win over the Dubs. He was also Kerry's top scorer in 1955 and was also named "footballer of the year" by the national sports writers. The '55 AII Ireland was always known as "Tadghie Lynes' All lreland", some of his fabulous points breaking the heart of the Dubs.

One report on the final, which was played before 87,000 people, states, "Kerry were to give the polished Dubliners the land of their lives, and the man who was to inspire them to scale those dizzy heights of greatness was the inimitable Tadghie Lyne". As an all round sportsman, he won an Ireland Basketball medal with Kerry, and he excelled at Pitch N Putt and snooker, but it will always be for his spectacular long range points that the great Tadhgie Lyne will be remembered. In 1985, when Castleisland Desmonds won the AII Ireland Club Title, there, among the forwards, was a certain Domo Lyne, son of Tadghie, carrying on the great scoring tradition of his father.



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