Derek Thomas Lyng (born 4 July 1978) is an Irish hurling manager and former player. He has been manager of the Kilkenny senior hurling team since 2022.
As a student at the Waterford Institute of Technology, Lyng joined the senior hurling team during his second year but found it difficult to break onto the starting fifteen. On 28 February 1999, he won a Fitzgibbon Cup medal after coming on as a substitute in the 4âÂÂ15 to 3âÂÂ12 defeat of University College Cork in the final.
Lyng joined the Emeralds club in Urlingford at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. He enjoyed championship success in the minor grade before eventually joining the club's top adult team in the Kilkenny Junior Championship.
On 31 October 1999, Lyng was selected at right wing-back when Emeralds qualified to play Carrickshock in the Kilkenny Junior Championship final. He ended the game on the losing side after a 1âÂÂ06 to 0âÂÂ08 defeat.
On 7 October 2001, Lyng lined out at midfield when Emeralds qualified for a second Kilkenny Junior Championship final in two seasons. He ended the game with a winners' medal following the 3âÂÂ11 to 1âÂÂ11 defeat of Windgap.
After more than a decade in the Kilkenny Intermediate Championship, Emeralds qualified for the final on 20 October 2013. Lyng was selected at right wing-forward and was held scoreless in the 2âÂÂ12 to 2âÂÂ11 defeat by Rower-Inistioge.
Having never played at minor level, Lyng first lined out for Kilkenny as a member of the under-21 team during the 1999 Leinster Championship. On 17 July 1999, he was an unused substitute when Kilkenny defeated Offaly by 1âÂÂ17 to 1âÂÂ06 to win the Leinster Championship. On 19 September 1999, Lyng won an All-Ireland medal as an unused substitute following Kilkenny's 1âÂÂ13 to 0âÂÂ14 defeat of Galway in the final.
Lyng was drafted onto the Kilkenny intermediate team in advance of the 1999 Leinster Championship. On 17 July 1999, he won a Leinster Championship medal following Kilkenny's 2âÂÂ15 to 0âÂÂ09 defeat of Laois in the final. On 25 September 1999, Lyng lined out at right wing-back when Kilkenny faced Galway in the All-Ireland final. He ended the game on the losing side after a 3âÂÂ13 to 2âÂÂ10 defeat.
Lyng joined the Kilkenny senior team prior to the start of the 2001 National League. He made his first appearance for the team on 11 February 2001 when he came on as a substitute for Peter Barry at left wing-back in a 3âÂÂ16 to 0âÂÂ11 defeat of Laois. Lyng made his Leinster Championship debut on 10 June 2001 when he again came on as a substitute for Peter Barry in a 3âÂÂ21 to 0âÂÂ18 defeat of Offaly in the semi-final. On 8 July 2001, he won a Leinster Championship medal as an unused substitute in Kilkenny's 2âÂÂ19 to 0âÂÂ12 defeat of Wexford.
On 5 May 2002, Lyng lined out at midfield when Kilkenny faced Cork in the National League final. He scored a point from play and collected a winners' medal following the 2âÂÂ15 to 2âÂÂ14 victory. Lyng was again at midfield when Kilkenny faced Wexford in the Leinster final on 7 July 2002. He scored two points from play and won a second successive Leinster Championship - his first on the field of play - after a 0âÂÂ19 to 0âÂÂ17 victory. On 8 September 2002, Lyng lined out at midfield when Kilkenny qualified to play Clare in the All-Ireland final. He ended the game with a first All-Ireland medal following the 2âÂÂ20 to 0âÂÂ19 victory. Lyng ended the season by winning a first All-Star award.
On 5 May 2003, Lyng won a second successive National League medal after lining out at midfield in Kilkenny's 5âÂÂ14 to 5âÂÂ13 defeat of Tipperary in the final. On 6 July 2003, he won his third consecutive Leinster Championship medal after scoring three points from play in the 2âÂÂ23 to 2âÂÂ12 defeat of Wexford in the final. On 7 September 2003, Lyng again lined out at midfield when Kilkenny faced Cork in the All-Ireland final. He scored a point from play and collected a second successive winners' medal following the 1âÂÂ14 to 1âÂÂ11 victory. Lyng ended the season by winning a second All-Star award.
On 12 September 2004, Lyng made his third successive All-Ireland final appearance when he lined out at midfield against Cork. He scored a point from play, however, Kilkenny suffered a 0âÂÂ17 to 0âÂÂ09 defeat.
On 2 May 2005, Lyng won a third National League medal after scoring a point from midfield in Kilkenny's 3âÂÂ20 to 0âÂÂ15 defeat of Clare in the final. On 7 July 2005, he won a fourth Leinster Championship medal following Kilkenny's 0âÂÂ22 to 1âÂÂ16 defeat of Wexford in the final.
On 30 April 2006, Lyng won his fourth National League medal after lining out at midfield in Kilkenny's 3âÂÂ11 to 0âÂÂ14 victory over Limerick. He won a fifth Leinster Championship medal on 2 July 2006 after scoring a point in a 1âÂÂ23 to 1âÂÂ12 defeat of Wexford in the final. On 3 September 2006, Lyng was again at midfield when Kilkenny qualified to play Cork in the All-Ireland final. He scored a point from play and claimed his third winners' medal after the 1âÂÂ16 to 1âÂÂ13 victory.
On 29 April 2007, lined out in his fifth National League final. He scored a point from midfield in the 0âÂÂ20 to 0âÂÂ18 defeat by Waterford. Lyng was sidelined due to a groin injury when Kilkenny faced Wexford in the Leinster final on 1 July 2007. In spite of this, he claimed a sixth winners' medal as a non-playing substitute following the 2âÂÂ24 to 1âÂÂ12 victory. On 2 September 2007, Lyng was back on the starting fifteen and lined out at midfield in the All-Ireland final against Limerick. He ended the game with a fourth All-Ireland medal following the 2âÂÂ19 to 1âÂÂ15 victory.
On 6 July 2008, Lyng won a seventh Leinster Championship medal after scoring a point from midfield in the 5âÂÂ21 to 0âÂÂ17 defeat of Wexford. On 8 September 2008, he was again at midfield when Kilkenny faced Waterford in a first All-Ireland final since 1963. Lyng scored three points from play and claimed a fifth All-Ireland medal following a 3âÂÂ30 to 1âÂÂ13 victory.
Lyng collected a fifth National League medal on 3 May 2009 when he lined out as a substitute in Kilkenny's 2âÂÂ26 to 4-17 extra-time defeat of Tipperary in the final. On 5 July 2009, he was back on the starting fifteen in his usual position of midfield when Kilkenny faced Dublin in the Leinster final. Lyng ended the game with an eighth winners' medal following the 2âÂÂ18 to 0âÂÂ18 victory. He retained his position at midfield when Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final on 6 September 2009. Lyng collected his sixth All-Ireland medal as Kilkenny became only the second team ever to win four All-Ireland titles in-a-row following the 2âÂÂ22 to 0âÂÂ23 victory.
Lyng failed to command a place on the starting fifteen during the 2010 Leinster Championship. In spite of this he won a ninth Leinster Championship medal as an unused substitute on 4 July 2010 following Kilkenny's 1âÂÂ19 to 1âÂÂ12 defeat of Galway. On 5 September 2010, he was selected on the substitutes' bench when Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final. Lyng was introduced as a substitute for Cha Fitzpatrick at midfield and scored a point in the 4âÂÂ17 to 1âÂÂ18 defeat.
Lyng announced his retirement from inter-county hurling on 1 December 2010. In a statement he said: "There is never an ideal time to do something like this, but the time is right for me now. I had a great innings. I played with and against some of the greatest hurlers who ever lived and I picked up a few honours along the way."
Lyng was first selected for the Leinster inter-provincial team during the 2002 Railway Cup. He made his first appearance for the team on 2 November 2002 when he scored a point from midfield in Leinster's 3âÂÂ18 to 2âÂÂ13 defeat of Connacht. On 3 November 2002, Lyng won a Railway Cup medal after scoring a point from midfield in the 4âÂÂ15 to 3âÂÂ17 defeat of Munster in the final.
After being selected for the team again in 2003, Lyng lined out in a second successive Railway Cup final on 8 November 2003. He scored a point from midfield and collected a second successive winners' medal following the 4âÂÂ09 to 2âÂÂ12 defeat of Connacht.
On 28 October 2006, Lyng was at midfield when he lined out in his third Railway Cup final. He was held scoreless throughout the game but collected a third winners' medal following the 1âÂÂ23 to 0âÂÂ17 defeat of Connacht.
Lyng was selected for Ireland team for the ShintyâÂÂHurling International Series in 2008. He made his only appearance for the team on 18 October 2008 when Ireland suffered a 1âÂÂ10 to 1âÂÂ09 defeat to Scotland.
Lyng joined Johnny Dooley's management team with Leinster in advance of the 2012 Railway Cup. On 4 March 2012, he was on the sideline when Leinster defeated Connacht by 2âÂÂ19 to 1âÂÂ15 to win the Railway Cup.
On 9 December 2013, Lyng was appointed as a selector with the Kilkenny senior team under Brian Cody. He captured his first silverware as a selector on 4 May 2014 when Kilkenny defeated Tipperary by 2âÂÂ25 to 1âÂÂ27 to win the National League title. On 6 July 2014, Lyng was on the sideline when Kilkenny won the Leinster Championship following a 0âÂÂ24 to 1âÂÂ09 defeat of Dublin in the Leinster final. Following a 3âÂÂ22 to 1âÂÂ28 draw with Tipperary in the All-Ireland final on 7 September 2014, Lyng's side went on to win the title after a 2âÂÂ17 to 2âÂÂ14 victory in the replay on 27 September 2014.
Lyng won a second successive Leinster Championship as a selector on 5 July 2015 following Kilkenny's 1âÂÂ25 to 2âÂÂ15 defeat of Galway in the final. On 6 September 2015, he was again on the sideline for the All-Ireland final against Galway. Lyng ended the game with a second All-Ireland title as a selector following the 1âÂÂ22 to 1âÂÂ18 victory.
Lyng helped guide Kilkennny to a third successive Leinster Championship on 3 July 2016 following a 1âÂÂ26 to 0âÂÂ22 defeat of Galway in the final. On 4 September 2016, he saw his side suffer a 2âÂÂ29 to 2âÂÂ20 defeat by Tipperary in the All-Ireland final.
On 8 April 2018, Lyng secured his second National League title as a selector following Kilkenny's 2âÂÂ23 to 2âÂÂ17 defeat of Tipperary in the final. His side failed to retain the Leinster Championship for the fourth successive year following a 1âÂÂ28 to 3âÂÂ15 defeat by Galway in a final replay.
On 30 June 2019, Lyng was on the sideline when Kilkenny suffered a 1âÂÂ23 to 0âÂÂ23 defeat by Wexford in the Leinster final.
On 4 August 2022, Lyng was appointed manager of the Kilkenny senior hurling team.
David Herity endorsed Lyng's appointment as Brian Cody's successor, telling Off the Ball AM that Lyng would be a different type of manager: "Derek would be nothing like Brian... Derek was always seen as one of the lads in the dressing room Brian approached before a match and gave a dig to and said, 'right get these lads going'. He was that kind of lad, along with a Noel Hickey or Henry [Shefflin]. He would have ticked a few boxes in what Brian Cody would look for in a player and leader. When Derek came in [as a selector], he was slightly the yin to the yang. James McGarry and Brian Cody would be similar enough in personality, stand-offish. They wouldn't show a massive amount of emotion or talk to players in that sense. Derek Lyng would've been the more friendly type".
After stepping down as a selector with the Kilkenny senior team, Lyng was ratified as D. J. Carey's successor as manager of the Kilkenny under-20 hurling team on 14 October 2019.
Lyng got his team off to a great start in 2022 winning the Leinster Under 20 Championship over Wexford by one point. Lyng, followed this with All Ireland success as Kilkenny won the Under 20 Championship with a win over Limerick for the first time since 2008.
On 4 August 2022, Lyng stepped down as under-20 manager as he returned to the Kilkenny senior team as manager.