The only man to captain the Cork hurling and football teams in the same year, Lynch was a member of the four-in-a-row All Ireland hurling team from 1941-44. Midfield on the team that won the All Ireland football title in 1945, when Cork won the 1946 hurling title again he became the first (and so far only) man to win six consecutive All Irelands. Was captain for some of Glen Rovers' record-breaking eight Cork hurling titles in a row and won county football medals with St Nicholas and Civil Service in Dublin.

First elected as TD in 1951, he was leader of Fianna Fail from 1966-1979 and Taoiseach from 1966-73 and again from 1977-79. Possibly the most popular Taoiseach, he was picked on the hurling Team of the Millennium at midfield and died in 1999.

JOHN WILSON
Cavan and Fianna Fail

John Wilson won four Leinster football championship medals with St Mel's College in Longford and five Ulster Championship medals in the '40s with his native Cavan. In a strange coincidence he played against Jack Lynch in the 1945 All Ireland football final . . . Wilson was right-half back while Lynch was right cornerforward. Wilson won his first All Ireland medal beating Kerry in the famous 1947 Polo Grounds final in New York. He was on the Cavan team that won the following year's All Ireland and National League as well. Was elected as a TD in 1973 and served until 1993. He held ministerial posts in seven departments as well as being Tanaiste during in the early '90s. Involved with the Ballyboden St Enda's club in Dublin, he died earlier this month.

JIMMY DEENIHAN
Kerry and Fine Gael

The current Fine Gael spokesman for arts, sport and tourism and Finuge clubman first played for the Kerry seniors in 1973, winning the National League that year. Two year later, under Mick O'Dwyer, Deenihan won the first of his seven Munster championships and five All Ireland titles. A tough corner-back, he captained the four-in-a-row team in 1981, winning an All Star before a broken leg forced him into retirement from the county game in 1983. He was nominated to the Seanad in 1982 before being elected to the Dail in 1987, the same year he won a north Kerry championship. He served as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry from 1994-97.

SEAN FLANAGAN
Mayo and Fianna Fail

Sean Flanagan had the distinction of captaining an All Ireland-winning side and being elected to the Dail in the same year, 1951. That was the second year in row that Flanagan lifted the Sam Maguire and he remains the last Mayo captain to do so. He also won two Connacht Colleges titles with St Jarlath's College, two Sigerson Cup medals with UCD, five Connacht senior championship medals with Mayo as well as being selected at left corner-back on the Team of the Millennium.

Serving in the Dail for 26 years, he was chief whip as well as Minister for Lands and Health before losing his seat in 1977.

He then spent 10 years in the European Parliament and died in 1993 at the age of 71.

JOHN DONNELLAN
Galway and Fine Gael

Politics and Gaelic games run strong in the Donnellan family. Mick won an All Ireland with Galway in 1925 before becoming a TD for Clann na Talun in 1943. He died at Croke Park as his son lifted the Sam Maguire as captain in 1964.

John won the by-election for his seat and went on to win two more All Ireland medals as part of the Galway three-in-row team, despite being sent off in the 1965 final. Michael Donnellan has since had the football prowess but has shown no interest in following the political tradition so far.

John also won six Connacht titles and served in the Dail from 1964-1989 serving as a minister of state on two occasions.

DICK SPRING
Kerry, Ireland and the Labour Party

Like the Donnellans, the Springs kept it in the family. Dan Spring was the captain of the Kerry team that won the 1940 All Ireland football final and a Labour TD from 1943-81. His son, Dick, also played football and hurling with Kerry but with less success. The younger Spring had better fortune on the rugby field with London Irish and won three caps for Ireland, although he is mostly remembered for an unfortunate error against Wales. Elected to his father's seat in 1981, he became Labour leader the following year and held the post for 15 years. He was Tanaiste in three governments and a minister before losing his seat to Sinn Fein's Martin Ferris in 2002.

DAVY TWEED
Ulster, Ireland, DUP and Independent The burly lock forward won three caps for Ireland in the mid '90s and made 37 appearances for Ulster. He apparently said before his first international appearance against France:

"After 30 caps for my country [Ulster] I've been selected to play for Ireland!" Perhaps then it's little surprise that Tweed later became a DUP councillor in Ballymena.

And perhaps it's even less of a surprise that he resigned from the DUP earlier this year in protest at the party's powersharing with Sinn Fein in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Calling the DUP's actions "not so much a backward step as a complete somersault, " the 47-year-old now sits as an Independent on Ballymena Borough Council.

LIAM LAWLOR
Dublin and Fianna Fail

Played minor and senior hurling for Dublin as well as in the Railway Cup for Leinster. A player renowned for his physical approach, it was said he used to travel to Laois to play games because the hurling in Dublin was too clean. Uncompromising in his political life as well, Jimmy Deenihan once asked him to resign as vice chair of the Dail Ethics Committee.

Following a traumatic tongue-lashing from Lawlor, Deenihan remarked, "Thanks be to Jesus he didn't play football." Lawlor served five terms in the Dail as well as his infamous time on Dublin City Council. Died following a car crash in Moscow in 2005.

TYRONE HOWE
Ulster, Ireland and UUP

A left winger on the rugby field, Tyrone Howe is now a moderate councillor for the UUP in the Dromore ward of Banbridge since May 2005. Howe played for Oxford University, Banbridge, Newbury and Dungannon, spending a brief time combining rugby and politics before retiring from the professional game last year. Howe won 14 Irish caps scoring six tries, went on the Lions tour of 2001 and won the European Cup with Ulster in 1999. Another ex-Irish winger Trevor Ringland, who urged him to run, is also an influential member of the UUP and the party's spokesperson on sport.

JIM GLENNON
Leinster, Ireland and Fianna Fail

Capped six times for Ireland as second-row, Jim Glennon was also Irish under-19 and under-21 manager. He was in charge of Leinster at the dawn of the professional era, overseeing their very first European Cup game.

A senator from 2000 to 2002, he was elected a as a TD at the 2002 election in the Dublin North constituency and was vice-chairman of the Oireachtas committee on arts, sport, tourism, community, rural and Gaeltacht affairs. Selected to contest this year's election but citing the heavy work burden of politicians he didn't go forward. Instead former Dublin footballer John O'Leary ran on behalf of Fianna Fail but failed to get elected.