A long journey but Lynch now fulfilling promise with Derry

Before coaching became such an integral part of football, the best managers were essentially natural-born sports psychologists.

Adrian McGuckin is a prime example. Like Eamon Fitzmaurice is currently doing with Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne in Kerry, McGuckin took a new school and put it on the map. From his first MacRory Cup title in 1977 until his retirement in 2006, McGuckin established St Patrick’s Maghera as one of the most successful academies in the country.

An anecdote that emerged from the 1994 MacRory Cup final illustrates McGuckin’s man-management skills.