John Lynch is a former Tyrone

Tyrone GAA

The Tyrone County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Tyrone GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Tyrone. The county board is also responsible for the Tyrone inter-county teams....

 Gaelic football

Gaelic football

Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

er, and All Star

GAA All Stars Awards

The All Stars Awards, currently sponsored by Vodafone, are given annually since 1971 by the Gaelic Athletic Association to the best player in each of the fifteen positions in Gaelic football and Hurling in Ireland. Additionally, one player in each code is selected as the player of the year...

 winner, who played in Tyrone's first ever All-Ireland Final in 1986.

He also represented Ireland in an early rendition of the International Rules Series

International Rules Series

The International Rules Series is a senior men's International rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team and the Ireland international rules football team...

. He blames his subsequent sending off for instigating an unfair reputation as being a dirty player.

He played club football for his local town, Castlederg

Castlederg

Castlederg is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Derg and is close to the border with County Donegal. The village has a ruined castle and two ancient tombs known as the Druid's Altar and Todd's Den...

, but was very close to pursuing a career in athletics, until his girlfriend convinced him to pursue Gaelic football.