Lynam named on Sigerson Cup Team of The Year

Westmeath senior footballer Jonathan Lynam has been named at midfield on the GAA Higher Education Rising Stars Football Team of the Year.

Lynam, who plays his club football with The Downs, made a big impression as he and his UCD colleagues reached the final where they were denied by Ulster University (UU), at Austin Stack Park, Tralee. He is one of five UCD players named on the team, including David Garland (Monaghan), Aaron Lynch (Meath), Dáire Cregg (Roscommon) and Donncha Gilmore (Derry).

Lynam came into the Westmeath senior side in 2022 under former manager Jack Cooney and featured regularly in last year's All-Ireland series (Sam Maguire Cup) for Dessie Dolan's men, including the game against Tyrone which finished all square (0-18 apiece) at Kingspan Breffni Park.

He played at midfield alongside Ray Connellan in that thrilling encounter, in which John Heslin narrowly missed a late free that would have won the game for the Lake County and taken them through to the quarter-final.

The Ulster college took home the Sigerson Cup title for the first time since 2008 after defeating University College Dublin (UCD) in the final.

GAA President, Jarlath Burns, praised the players chosen for ther levels of skill and determination.

“I would like to congratulate each of the players and their institutions on their achievements throughout this season’s Championship and for being named on the Football Team of the Year. The determination and skill on display in this year’s Electric Ireland Higher Education GAA Championships has been immensely enjoyable to watch, and the players named here serve as fantastic representatives of their third level institutions. We look forward to celebrating their achievements at a formal ceremony later in the year,” he remarked.

In this year’s Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education Rising Stars 2024 Football Team of the Year, Sigerson Cup Champions, UU, have seven players included on the team. Beaten semi-finalists, University of Limerick (UL) feature twice on the team, while Maynooth University have a single player included.

2024 Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education Rising Stars Football Team of the Year

1. Conor Flaherty (UL, Claregalway & Galway)

2. Mark Dempsey (UL, Moorefield & Kildare)

3. Ryan Magill (UU, Burren & Down)

4. Josh Largo Ellis (UU, Irvinestown & Fermanagh)

5. Donncha Gilmore (UCD, Steelstown & Derry)

6. Ronan Mc Caffrey (UU, Teemore Shamrocks & Fermanagh)

7. Ben Mc Carron (UU, Steelstown & Derry)

8. Jonathan Lynam (UCD, The Downs & Westmeath)

9. Oisín McCann (UU, Killyclogher & Tyrone)

10. Eoghan Frayne (Maynooth, Summerhill & Meath)

11. Dáire Cregg (UCD, Boyle & Roscommon)

12. Aaron Lynch (UCD, Trim & Meath)

13. David Garland (UCD, Donaghmoyne & Monaghan)

14. Niall Loughlin (UU, Greenlough & Derry)

15. Darragh Canavan (UU, Errigal Ciarán & Tyrone)

The Electric Ireland Higher Education GAA Rising Star Hurling and Football Player of the Year will be announced at the Higher Education Awards Ceremony on Monday April 1. These awards will acknowledge one outstanding performance from this year’s Fitzgibbon and Sigerson Cup Championships.