From the early 1950’s to the present day there have been a number of standout figures when it came to the organisation of under-age games in the Passage club. In the 1970’s and into the 1980’s, one such mentor was Dermot Lynch. Dermot was the central figure in everything that happened in the underage scene at that time and one often wonders how he managed to pack so much unselfish work into any particular week.

Every Passage player who came through the under-age system at that time, will have memories of Dermot. There is one particular aspect of his involvement that they all remember. This of course was his mode of transport which was a very familiar Honda 50 motorbike. If you consider the powerful modern vehicles now driving in and out of Manning Park, it makes it even more remarkable what Dermot could achieve astride that little motorbike. The sight and sound of that Honda 50 chugging up Church Hill laden down with hurley’s and jersey’s, is indeed still a very vivid memory of many Passage players of that era.

For many years Dermot had sole charge of the Passage under-15 and under-16 hurling and football teams and when the under-13 grade was introduced, it added to his already considerable workload. If this was not enough to keep him occupied he also attended the weekly Bord na n-Óg meetings on a Saturday night to arrange fixtures for the teams.

It must also be taken into account that at that time house phones were a rarity and mobile phones had not even been invented. This meant that Dermot had to call to every house, of every player, to notify them of the upcoming fixtures and if there was a change in match times or dates, the same journey had to be undertaken again.

As time progressed Dermot was grateful for the assistance given to him by people such as Ned Harrington, Finbarr Harrington and Joe Nugent. It was becoming impossible to plough a lone furrow in keeping up with the rapidly growing under-age activities, and the said trio of club volunteers also played a key role. As well as the club teams, that period also saw the advent of parish leagues in both hurling and football and not surprisingly Dermot was also to the fore in organising this vital aspect of nurturing the future stars of Passage.

Dermot will always be remembered for his trojan work with the juvenile section of the Passage club but it must not be forgotten that he was a hurler of no mean ability. He was a key member of what was, arguably, the best ever under age hurling team in the club. The 1966 team became the only team in the clubs history to win an “A” grade competition in Bord na n-Óg and produced four Cork minors, and D. Lynch was an ever present on that illustrious team.

Through sheer dedication and a relentless approach to training Dermot managed to make the leap from junior hurling to senior hurling and it was one of his proudest moments when he donned the white and green jersey in the senior hurling championship against Carrigdhoun.