Boyle, County Roscommon
Known as Le among his friends and family, Lyons was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1923, where his father was a bank official. He was born into an Irish Protestant family of Presbyterian and Church of Ireland background. After his birth, his family soon moved to Boyle, County Roscommon, Irish Free State. He was educated at Dover College in Kent and later attended The High School. At Trinity College Dublin, he was elected a Scholar in Modern History and Political Science in 1943.