David Lynn produced a sparkling seven-under-par 65 and take the Irish Open lead.

Englishman Lynn freely admits he normally suffers boredom with the European Tour at this time of year, even though the season still has 14 events to run.

But in Portmarnock, inspired by both the musings of Muhammad Ali and by making the cut in last week's British Open, he fizzed to within a stroke of the course record, surging to 10-under-par 134, two strokes ahead of overnight leader Thomas Bjorn.

Dane Bjorn, who set the record in the opening round, was in the afternoon half of the second round draw, as was New Zealand's Michael Campbell, shunted to third place by Lynn who now heads him by four shots.

"My season often just goes off a bit in the middle, just gets a bit stale and I get a bit bored," Lynn said.

"In other seasons it has tended to come back at the end, so it's good to see I'm getting some form at this time.

"The (British) Open last week gave me a real buzz, so that perked me up for this week.

"I've tried various ways of not being stale at this time of year, particularly psychology. You can gain a lot of good tips from some great quotes from around the world. I have several on my mobile (phone) and I call them up to give me the right thoughts on the course.

"Ali has a great one: 'Champions aren't made in the gym, they must have the skill and the will but the will far outweighs the skill'."

Lynn's nearest rivals in the clubhouse were the Australian pair Peter O'Malley and Peter Lonard, five strokes behind.

The 29-year-old Englishman has had four top-10 finishes this campaign and has two European Tour second places on his record as he plays his fifth full season.

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