Tiernan Lynch Appointed as New Derry City Manager

Larne manager Tiernan Lynch is set to depart the back-to-back Irish Premiership champions to sign a three-year agreement and assume leadership at Derry City. The 44-year-old’s final match in charge of the Inver outfit will be their BetMcLean League Cup fixture against Institute, taking place at Derry’s Brandywell Stadium on Tuesday. He will succeed Ruaidhri Higgins as the Candystripes’ boss. Higgins vacated his managerial position by mutual consent after a three-year tenure, following Derry’s unexpected 2-0 defeat to Drogheda in the FAI Cup final. Lynch’s elder brother, Seamus, who served as his assistant at Larne, will also transfer to the League of Ireland club. Concurrently, Gary Haveron and Andrew Mitchell will assume temporary command at Inver Park. Lynch took over as Larne manager in 2017, guiding them from the second-tier Championship to consecutive top-flight titles. He also led them into the Uefa Conference League phase this season, making Larne the first Northern Irish team to qualify for the group or league stage of a major European competition. Kenny Bruce, Larne’s majority shareholder, stated that the Lynch brothers have been instrumental in creating the “foundation of all” the club’s recent successes. He commented, “Their names will go down in the record books of not only Larne Football Club, but Irish League football as a whole, for all that they have done.” “They have both worked tirelessly for the club and that hard work has borne much fruit and achieved some incredible feats.” “They have played a major part in building the club from the first team right through to the Academy.” “Both of them have also created a hugely important culture, which has been the foundation of all we’ve been able to do.” Lynch had previously declined an opportunity to take charge of Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone in September. He will leave Larne positioned ninth in the Irish Premiership table after a challenging start to their title defense. The Inver outfit currently trails pacesetters Linfield by 14 points, with three games in hand, following a 1-0 home loss against the Blues over the weekend. Regarding the links to the Brandywell after that defeat, Lynch stated, “I’ve to worry about getting this performance put right. That’s the only thing I’ll think about at this stage.” He will now be tasked with overseeing a rebuilding effort at Derry, following a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Premier Division last season. The Candystripes were engaged in a title race with eventual champions Shelbourne for much of the season, but that league standing, coupled with the cup final defeat, means Derry will not participate in European football next season. They have also seen the departure of brothers Shane and captain Patrick McEleney, who moved to Glentoran and Ballymena United respectively, as well as Colm Whelan, who joined Bohemians, all due to the expiration of their contracts. Sean Barrett, the chief executive officer of the Brandywell outfit, conveyed that the club was impressed by Lynch’s “vision and energy to take” the club forward. Barrett added, “He has overseen a massive development programme at Larne over the past few seasons and we are delighted that he was very keen to come to the Brandywell.” “There is a lot of work to do over the coming weeks in preparation for next season and we are very much looking forward to starting work with Tiernan later this week.”