Lyons first appeared on the inter-county scene with the Kerry minor team in 1953, before making his senior debut in 1956.
[1] He was a regular on the team for much of the following decade and won his first All-Ireland Championship title in 1959 before claiming a second winners' medal in 1962.
[2][3][4] Lyons also won six Munster Championship titles and was involved in two National League title-winning teams.
and began his professional career as permanent instructor at Pallaskenry Agricultural College.
Lyons died aged 49 at the Bon Secours Hospital in Tralee on 10 July 1984.