Michael Lynch (Irish Army officer)

Michael Lynch, MMG (24 April 1942 – 24 October 2008) was an Irish Army Commandant and United Nations military observer, and recipient of the Military Medal for Gallantry, the highest military decoration of Ireland.

Early years and personal life
Lynch was born in Dublin in 1942, the son of Colonel Thomas Lynch. He was educated at Newbridge College in County Kildare and attended Trinity College, Dublin for a year before enlisting as a Cadet at the Military College in the Curragh Camp. He was commissioned as an officer in 1962 and assigned to the 2nd Infantry Battalion.

Lynch was married to wife Áine and the couple had a daughter, Anna, and three sons, Tom, John and Cormac.

Military career
In 1965, Lynch began his overseas service with the Defence Forces as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

He served in the Sinai Peninsula in 1974, the desert between Egypt and Israel, as part of the UN force that supervised the ceasefire that saw the end of the Yom Kippur War.

In 1980 and already with significant overseas experience, Lynch began a tour of duty as a United Nations Military Observer in the Middle East. This tour took place against the backdrop of a civil war in Lebanon and in September 1982 Lynch was one of the first witnesses at the scene of the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut.

Lynch is one of only six recipients of the Military Medal for Gallantry, 2nd Class with Distinction, after he recovered the bodies of UN colleagues who had driven into a minefield. Among the four UN observers killed was fellow Irish soldier, Commandant Michael Nestor from Newbridge. Lynch's citation reads: "For showing exemplary loyalty to his fallen United Nations Military Observers, and with disregard for his own safety, displaying the highest degree of courage and initiative in undertaking and successfully following through a difficult and dangerous mission, behind Syrian lines, in the mountains east of Beirut on the night of the 25th of September 1982, and for reflecting through his actions during the mission, outstanding credit on himself and his country."

He took leave of the Army in 1998, holding the rank of Camp Commandant, Clancy Barracks, Dublin.

Life outside the Army
Lynch also enjoyed a long rugby career, starting with schools rugby at Newbridge College before going on to play as prop with North Kildare RFC, County Carlow Football Club and Lansdowne Football Club. He captained Monkstown Football Club to victory in the 1980 O'Connor Cup.

Upon retirement from the Defence Forces, Lynch ran the Orwell Lodge Hotel in Rathgar, Dublin for eight years before selling the hotel and established the El Comandante wine label in Mendoza, Argentina in 2005.

Lynch became ill and died in October 2008 aged 66.