Tiernan Lynch admits Larne's back-to-back Premiership success 'means everything' to him and brother Seamus

Their coronation for a second consecutive season was a formality with a superior goal difference to Linfield, but Larne rounded the season out in style by beating Coleraine 5-0 – further helping build the party atmosphere inside Inver Park.

It has been another impressive campaign for Lynch’s men – they’ve won more matches, lost fewer, conceded less goals and scored significantly more than last term – as they continue to lay the foundations for potential further Irish League glory over the coming years.

Lynch arrived at Larne in 2017 having previously worked at Glentoran and alongside the likes of owner Kenny Bruce, chairman Gareth Clements and sibling Seamus, who serves as assistant manager, has helped transform the club from Championship strugglers to a Premiership force.

"As brothers it means everything,” Tiernan told the BBC. “We've been working together in the Irish League for 13 or 14 years between Glentoran and Larne and to know where we started at Larne and where we've built it through the ups and the downs, the high and the lows. To do it back-to-back means everything.

"It was a long week because we had that one hand on the cup after Monday night but you couldn't really talk about it. The big thing about getting here was trying to bring trophies and could we get European football and Champions League football?

"We probably felt a little hard done by in the HJK game across two legs (earlier this season) and we'll be better prepared this time."

Larne have evolved into a winning machine over the past two seasons – they finished fifth in 2021/22 while conceding 39 goals (they’ve only leaked 43 in the next two combined) and losing 10 of their 38 matches.

That number stands at just two this term – Loughgall and Crusaders are the only teams that can boast league victories – and a 24-game unbeaten league run helped set the platform for success.

"It was really important we evolved because teams were catching on to how we played...we were one dimensional,” added Seamus. “We brought players in two years ago that wouldn't have previously been our type of players, so we knew we needed to adapt.

"It's a game for the Irish League and you need to have a team that can win this league.”

Tiernan also dedicated this trophy to the club’s fans, who were in fine voice throughout the evening as Paul O’Neill’s brace and further strikes from Micheal Glynn, Andy Ryan and Scott Allan sealed a comfortable win.

"It's a real community club and there are so many people involved behind the scenes in what we do,” he said. “Days like this and times like these are all for them."