Latest news with #LiamLynch
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Work on open terrace end of Austin Stack Park will increase capacity to 14,000
WORK on the revamp of the Horan's End of Tralee's Austin Stack Park will begin in the coming weeks and increase the capacity at Kerry GAA's second home to 14,000. Castleisland contractors Griffin Brothers have been appointed to the project and are expected to begin work in early August, and finish early next year in time for the beginning of the Allianz Football League. The terrace works - behind the goal to the right of the main stand as one looks out onto the pitch - involves the development of a facility similar to that on the Mitchel's end of the ground, but without a roof - as well as the construction of a new toilets block for patrons. As the development begins, access to Austin Stack Park from the Horan end will be restricted, but supporters will enter the facility from the current access points closer to the Mitchels, while plans are also in place to create further access points. According to Kerry GAA vice-chair Liam Lynch - who is the chairman of the Austin Stack Park Development Committee - the upcoming works will ensure that Tralee can continue to host major club and National League games. He said the Development Committee, formed almost ten years ago, continues to receive significant support from local businesses. 'The scheme has approximately 150 members. Everyone pays €1,000, and we have other people that pay higher, and we're hugely thankful to every one of those,' Liam said. Recent years have seen the development of the playing pitch, improved floodlights and the development of the Mitchel's end of Austin Stack Park. "Anybody who has been here for the Dublin National League game will know, that's where the Hill 16 on tour goes, and it's been a fantastic addition to the grounds," Liam said. 'The next part of the jigsaw always was to replicate that without the roof in the Horan's End. 'Covid intervened, but now we're in a position to start the Horan's End development,' Lynch explained. 'Austin Park will now be able to cater for 14,000 people, which is fantastic." "It's quite a unique concept," he said. "The businesses of the town and some also from North Kerry, west Kerry and Castleisland areas, have come together to support us. It's their support only, that has enabled us to go out, to borrow the money, and to pay off bank loans over time."
Irish Post
02-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Post
Irish businessman Liam Lynch awarded Freedom of City of London
IRISH businessman Liam Lynch, founder of L Lynch Plant Hire & Haulage, has been awarded the Freedom of the City of London. After arriving in the city at the age of 17, Lynch laid the foundations for his business with the purchase of a single machine in 1977, going on to officially found his company in 1980. Now headquartered in Hemel Hempstead with a fleet of more than 4,000 machines, the company is recognised as a leading provider of plant hire for Britain's construction industry. In a post on the company's social media accounts, Lynch spoke of his affinity for the city where his business began more than 40 years ago. "Arriving in London when I was 17 years old, I was full of ambition," he said. "I saw that this was a place of opportunities, where dreams and ideas come alive. "Today, Lynch has depots all over the country, including in Northampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Carlisle and Inverness, but back then, London was the only place I wanted to start my journey. "Even now, London continues to inspire me. The city of London attracts great people and it rewards the ambition, innovation and hard work upon which it was built. "I understand that opportunities to succeed exist nationwide, from London to every corner of the UK, but London is the city where I've chosen to base and grow the business from. "I love this city, a proud moment." Before moving to their state-of-the-art headquarters in Hertfordshire in 2018, L Lynch was previously headquartered in various locations across London. From Dollis Hill, to Cricklewood, Queensbury, Wembley and Stanmore, the company moved across the capital as its success grew. In the process, it has been involved in some of the city's biggest and most iconic projects, including the Jubilee Line, the Millennium Dome, the Olympic Park and the Elizabeth Line. Its fleet is easily recognisable across the capital and the whole of Britain thanks to its iconic logo, designed by Lynch's son, Merrill. He and brother Rob have both followed in their father's footsteps and are joint managing directors of the company, having started out in their youth helping to clean, grease and fuel machines on weekends and school holidays. While most of the practical historic reasons for obtaining the Freedom of the City of London have disappeared, the honour nevertheless remains a unique part of the city's history. Many people who have lived or worked in London have been proud to have been bestowed the honour. Other Irish people to receive the Freedom of the City include Kelly Group founder Tim Kelly, community leader Seamus McGarry, London Irish Construction Network founder Frank O'Hare, current Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and activist Bernárd Lynch. See More: L Lynch Plant Hire And Haulage, Liam Lynch
Irish Examiner
09-06-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Charm and war telegrams under the thatch at €275k Glantane cottage
YOU'D half expect a rabbit in a waistcoat to greet you at The Thatch in Glantane, such is its whimsy and charm. In fact, it was bought by a real-life couple two years ago. One of their first tasks was to have the thatch re-done. They were able to source a thatcher with relative ease, as thatched homes remain a feature of the Blackwater Valley area. It took more than a week to do, and the result is masterful: Folk art and practical magic rolled into one. When the couple bought the house in 2023, it had been renovated by previous owners 20 years earlier but was vacant for a considerable time. The interior has a medieval feel, although the house is not much more than 100 years old. It's known locally as Finnegan's Cottage and selling agent Johanna Murphy, of Johanna Murphy & Sons, says it was a meeting place for units of the Lombardstown Volunteers in the lead-in to the War of Independence, with Liam Lynch a frequent visitor. 'When the house was refurbished, they found Volunteer telegrams hidden in the thatch,' the owners say. The current owners did quite a bit of 'freshening up' and site clearance. 'All the utilities are in place and in good order,' they say. New owners will still have a good bit of work to do but there are grants of up to €50,000 for a vacant property. There's also a thatching grant and insurance is in place. Previous owners extended the cottage and added a patio. Ms Murphy says if new owners wanted to extend further, there's a good example nearby of a modern extension added to a thatched cottage 'which complements it and brings it into the 21st century'. Glantane, near Mallow, is about a 30-minute drive from Cork City. The 119 sq m home is on the market with a €275,000 guide price. VERDICT: Could be quirky Airbnb or starter home. It deserves committed owners. It has fairytale charm, but PVC windows and doors need to go.
Irish Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Civil War was won using local knowledge and very good political and military leadership, new book argues.
In April 1923 the Irish Civil War was effectively over. The anti-Treaty IRA's commander-in-chief Liam Lynch, who had sought to prolong the war long after it was a lost cause, was shot dead in the Knockmealdown Mountains on April 10th. Some days earlier most of the anti-Treaty executive had been rounded up and incarcerated. A secret National Army missive from the time concluded that it was the 'beginning of the end as far as the irregular campaign is concerned'. It is an established historical fact that the Free State could not have won the Civil War without British aid. It was two British 18 pounder guns that started the war when they were fired on the anti-Treaty garrison occupying the Four Courts in June 1922. Serving Irish colonel and author Dr Gareth Prendergast discovered details in Winston Churchill's gargantuan archive about the scale of British military aid to the pro-Treaty side. READ MORE A note dated September 2nd, 1922 details the inventory sent to the Provisional Government (it wasn't the Free State Government until December 1922) down to the last bullet, 4,745,848 to be precise along with 27,400 rifles, 6,606 revolvers, 246 Lewis machine guns and nine 18 pounder guns with 2,160 shells. In addition, the Free State forces were given nearly 15,000 rifles which belonged to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). Even that was not enough with the Free State side demanding 10,000 more rifles in February 1923 complaining that many of the RIC weapons they received were 'very much used' and they were down to a bare inventory. Churchill, as secretary of state for the colonies, was in charge of ensuring the Anglo-Irish Treaty was implemented. Supplying the National Army from the mountains of surplus equipment left after the first World War was a much cheaper and more politically palatable way of enforcing the Treaty than the alternative which he contemplated in the aftermath of the assassination of the former head of the British army, Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP, in June 1922. Then Churchill was seized with a 'feverish impetuosity', according to accounts while erroneously blaming the anti-Treaty side for the assassination. He contemplated shelling the Four Courts from Royal Navy guns. He was talked down from his high dudgeon by General Sir Nevil Macready, the officer commanding British forces in Ireland, who recognised that restarting the War of Independence would only suck his country into a morass from which it had extracted itself with great reputational damage. Freedom, though, isn't free. With the war moving towards its inevitable conclusion, the British thought it prudent on April 16th, 1923 to send what might be considered in modern parlance as a 'gentle reminder' to its Free State equivalent that it owed it money for two Rolls Royce armoured cars and a pair of Vickers guns and equipment. The sum involved £5,301,19,10d is the equivalent today of €435,000. The invoice was sent by Lord Devonshire, Churchill's successor as secretary of state for the colonies, who assumed the role in October 1922. He reminded the Irish governor-general Tim Healy that the cars had been delivered in October of the previous year by 'special arrangement' and on the basis they would be paid for in cash. Rolls Royce armoured cars were a valuable addition to the National Army's arsenal. They were ideal for urban environments as the anti-Treaty IRA's small arms fire were ineffective against them. One, the Slievenamon, accompanied Michael Collins on his fateful last trip which ended at Beal na Bláth. It was rescued, refurbished in 2011 and put on display at the Curragh Military Museum. There is no evidence that the invoice was ever paid, according to Prendergast whose book Clear, Hold, Build: How the Free State won the Irish Civil War is an examination of how the National Army successfully defeated the anti-Treaty IRA in just 11 months. The received historical wisdom is that the Pro-Treaty side won the war because of British support and the National Army's ability to very quickly recruit ex-first World War servicemen to the cause. Prendergast posits that it is not as simple as that and that the Civil War was won by very good political and military leadership. History is replete with examples where dominant powers lose despite superior manpower and equipment mostly because, without the support of the people, they are bound to fail. Though the military doctrine of counter-insurgency of clear, hold, build wasn't properly formed at the time, he believed the National Army adopted an exemplar of it by clearing areas of anti-Treaty fighters, holding those areas against counterattacks and at the same time building a consensus in favour of the Irish Free State. This was achieved despite the evident brutality of much of the Free State government's actions which included the execution of 81 Republican prisoners. The National Army succeeded where the British had failed in turning the rebels out of their strongholds because, unlike the British, they knew the terrain, the hideouts and the people involved. The anti-Treaty IRA had alienated the people by its destruction of vital infrastructure most notably roads and railways; the National Army won the confidence of the people by repairing the damage. The book has attracted a lot of interest in the US military which is still developing its counterinsurgency strategy after its disaster in Iraq when it won an easy military victory, declared mission accomplished only to be a hit by an insurgency which lasted years. None other than General David Petraeus, who orchestrated the 'surge' in Iraq in 2007 that was deemed a success after years of chaos has endorsed the book as an 'exceptionally readable case study'.
