Give Cian Lynch a sliotar and a hurley, and the young Patrickswell man has the ability to stop anyone in their tracks with his repertoire of skills.

When he was 12, Lynch was on a family holiday in Dubai, pucking a ball around the pool with his brother Kelvin when they ended up piquing the curiosity of John Terry.

An impromptu demonstration of the ancient game followed for the then England and Chelsea captain.

“We were pucking around beside the swimming pool, casual as you like,” Lynch explains. “We saw John Terry approach us and we got a shock, as you would – John Terry, we thought we were dreaming!

“He came over and started pucking around with us, a pure natural, like a lad who was playing tennis or golf the whole time. We were in awe of him.”

As well as being an inter-county star, Lynch is also an accomplished soccer player, having represented Mungret in Limerick and St Kevin’s Boys in Dublin in his youth, as well as spending some time with West Brom in England.

Although a Manchester United supporter, he was delighted to show the four-time Premier League winner how to play his native game.

“He said he thought he had seen it before in London and was mad to know what the rules were and how to play it,” Lynch adds.

“He picked up the hurley as casual as you like, pure down to earth, and belted away with us for around an hour.

“He was examining the hurley very closely and looking at the sliotar, the same as anyone would if they came across a sport they didn’t know anything about.

“We explained to him how the game works with county teams and club teams. We told him playing for Patrickswell was like playing for Chelsea and then playing for Limerick was like playing for England.

“He was good, a natural full-back I’d say by the look of him, but don’t tell that to Richie McCarthy. He was very good, though he had that tennis or golf swing that fellas have when they are not used to it.

“It was an experience we will never forget. We got a photo but I don’t know where it’s gone to now."

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