WILL Gabriel Rangers benefit from a sprinkling of Dingle football magic this season?

They just might. Pádraig Lynch, a man from the home of the newly crowned All-Ireland senior club football champions, is Rangers’ new football manager.

‘I’m a very happy Dingle man these days!’ Lynch smiled.

‘Who knows if it’s a good omen. That’s what I’m hoping for.’

Lynch now calls West Cork home and has lived locally for the past five years, swapping west Kerry for Ballydehob and Schull.

With the new club season just around the corner and the county football leagues throwing in at the start of March, Lynch is preparing for his first year in charge of Rangers, replacing Mike O’Brien at the helm.

‘I would have played football with Dingle at underage level,’ he explained.

‘I had a very bad injury when I was 21 years of age and that ended my playing career, unfortunately. I’ve always had a passion for GAA since I was young, going to matches with my father. He was heavily involved in the Dingle club in the 1960s and 70s.

‘When my kids came along, it brought the passion to the fore again. Since I moved down to West Cork, most of my involvement has been as my kids have got older.’

Lynch works as a sales director for an outsourcing company in Cork city. That was the main reason he moved across county bounds and made West Cork his home. He hasn’t looked back since.

‘We fell in love with the place. Ballydehob and Schull are fantastic communities. We bought a house and settled here,’ Lynch explained.

‘I have kids playing at U6 and U8 levels, and then I have a son who plays with the U16s and the minors. I have to say, the club really made a difference for us moving into a new community. They made us feel welcome.

‘It’s a real privilege for me to try to give something back to the intermediates. It was also a privilege to be asked, as a Kerryman living in West Cork. I got involved with Gabriels four or five years ago at underage. We have done a lot of work there over the last four years in particular.’

Gabriels take to the pitch in the league on Sunday, March 1 when they welcome fellow West Cork club Adrigole to Ballydehob for a Division 4 clash. The Carbery club enjoyed promotion from Division 5 last year and are hoping to kick on. They will also be targeting a serious run in the intermediate A championship later in the year.

Lynch’s management ticket includes Macroom man Noel Twomey as coach, while the selectors are Derek Cotter, Gerdi O’Donovan and Eric O’Brien, who was a player last year and has retired from the first team.

‘Absolutely buzzing for that first game. It’s something we are talking about already. Playing our first game at home, we’re hoping to have a good crowd out. That’s one thing I want to see from the club this year – bigger support at games for the lads,’ Lynch said.

‘I would very much have a winning mentality and what we’re trying to instil in the lads this year is a game-by-game approach. Our aim is to go out in every game and win it. I think coming up a division in the league will be a huge asset to us. We’re going to get more competitive games and we are playing against some great clubs. The games will definitely be a benefit in getting us up to premier intermediate level.’

Gabriel Rangers also won the Carbery junior C football championship in 2025, highlighting the potential for the future.

For now, though, the panel remains largely the same for the league, apart from the possible absence of Paddy O’Driscoll, who is on the Cork football panel.

‘What I will say is that I have brought a different spin to it this year, from the point of view that every single member of the squad will have a go at making this team. The junior Cs won the Carbery title last year and have gone up to junior B now,’ Lynch noted.

‘That has brought another edge and competitiveness to the squad. We have around 40 players there. For me, it’s very much about looking at the talent we have and our attributes, and making sure the best team is playing on the day.’

Gabriels have been there or thereabouts at intermediate A level for the past few seasons, so maybe some Dingle magic can help Rangers take that next step.