| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Déaglán Ó Riain | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Centre-forward | ||
| Born | 1968 Clonoulty, County Tipperary, Ireland |
||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| 1986-2006 | Clonoulty-Rossmore | ||
| Club Titles | |||
| Tipperary titles | 2 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
| 1988-2001 | Tipperary | 41 (9-64) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 5 | ||
| All Irelands | 3 | ||
| NHL | 4 | ||
| All Stars | 2 | ||
Declan Ryan (born 1968 in Clonoulty, County Tipperary, Ireland) is an Irish hurling manager and former player. He is the current manager of the Tipperary senior hurling team.
Regarded as one of his county's greatest hurling servants, Ryan enjoyed a successful playing career at club level with Clonoulty-Rossmore and at inter-county level with Tipperary. He was a forward on the latter team from 1988 until 2001 and has the distinction of being one of a handful of players to have won All-Ireland medals in three different decades. Ryan also collected five Munster titles, four National Hurling League titles and two All-Star awards.
In retirement from playing Ryan has become involved in team management. He served as manager of the Tipperary minor hurling team for two seasons, guiding the team to a second consecutive All-Ireland title in 2007. Ryan was appointed manager of the Tipperary senior hurling team in November 2010.[1]
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Ryan played his club hurling with the Clonoulty-Rossmore club and enjoyed much success in a career that spanned three decades.[2]
After coming to prominence as an under-age player Ryan later established himself on the club's senior team. In 1989 Clonoulty-Rossmore qualified for the final of county senior championship for the first time in 101 years. Reigning champions Loughmore-Castleiney provided the opposition on that occasion, however, history was on the side of Ryan and his club. A narrow 1-11 to 1-9 score line gave Clonoulty-Rossmore a coveted county title.
It was 1997 before Ryan lined out in his second county championship decider. Mullinahone were the opposition on that occasion, however, Clonoulty provided too strong once again. A 0-17 to 1-12 score line gave Ryan a second county title to add to his collection.
In 1998 Clonoulty-Rossmore were give the opportunity to make history by retaining their championship title when the club qualified for the county final once again. Toomevara were the opponents on that occasion and a close game developed. A 0-16 to 1-10 score line resulted in defeat for Ryan's side.
Ryan first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Tipperary minor hurling team in the mid-1980s. In 1986 his inter-county career nearly ended before it began in a Munster minor hurling championship game against Cork. Ryan, while lying on the ground, was struck in the face by a wild pull and received multiple stitches. He recovered from this set back to subsequently become a dual player of both hurling and Gaelic football at under-21 level.
It was as a member of the Tipperary under-21 hurlng team that Ryan enjoyed his first major success on the inter-county scene. In 1989 he was captain of the team for the year and guided his team to an appearance in the provincial decider. Limerick provided the opposition, however, the game turned into an absolute rout. A 5-16 to 1-6 score line gave Tipp the title and gave Ryan a coveted Munster under-21 winners' medal.[3] Tipperary later qualified for the All-Ireland final where Offaly provided the opposition. The game turned into a close affair, however, Tipperary prevailed by 4-10 to 3-11. Not only did Ryan collect a coveted All-Ireland under-21 winners' medal but he also had the honour, as captain, of collecting the cup on behalf of his team.[4]
By this stage Ryan was already a key feature on the Tipperary senior panel. He made his debut in 1988 at a time when Tipperary's star was rising. The year began well for Ryan as he captured a National Hurling League winners' medal following a 3-15 to 2-9 defeat of Offaly.[5] He later captured his first Munster winners' medal at senior level following a 2-19 to 1-13 victory over Cork.[6] A subsequent defeat of Antrim allowed Tipp to advance to the All-Ireland final where Galway provided the opposition. The westerners were the reigning champions, however, it was expected that Tipp might possibly shade the victory. Galway, however, used this to motivate themselves. Noel Lane scored the crucial goal for Galway while Nicky English sent a late penalty over the bar for a point. A 1-15 to 0-14 score line resulted in victory for Galway and defeat for Ryan. In spite of this defeat Ryan finished off his debut season by receiving his first All-Star award.[7]
In 1989 Tipperary were still the best team in Munster and Ryan won his second provincial title in-a-row after a 0-26 to 2-8 trouncing of Waterford. For the third time in as many years Tipp faced Galway in the All-Ireland series, however, on this occasion the men from the West were without their star player Tony Keady. The game turned out to be a tense and unsavory affair as Tipp finally triumphed over Galway. Antrim, the surprise winners of the other semi-final, provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland final. It was an historic occasion as it was only the second appearance of an Ulster team in the championship decider. Antrim’s relative inexperience robbed the final of any real element of contest and Tipp romped home to a 4-24 to 3-9 win, courtesy of a star performance by Nicky English. Because of this Tipp preserved their record of being the only team to win an All-Ireland title in every decade in GAA history. It was Ryan's first senior All-Ireland winners' medal.[8]
In 1990 Tipperary surrendered their Munster crown to Cork for the first time in four years. This defeat followed Babs Keating’s infamous remark about Cork that ‘donkeys don’t win derbies’.
Tipp returned in 1991 and defeated Cork in a thrilling Munster final replay giving Ryan his third provincial medal. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Tipp take on Kilkenny for the first time in twenty years. A freak goal by Michael Cleary in the first-half gave Tipp a lead which they never surrendered. A 1-16 to 0-15 victory allowed Ryan to capture his second All-Ireland winners' medal in three years.[9]
1992 saw Tipp exit the championship at an early stage, however, the team bounced back for one last hurrah in 1993. That year Ryan added a fourth Munster winners' medal to his collection as Tipp trounced Clare by 3-27 to 2-12. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final saw Tipp renew their rivalry with Galway; however, on this occasion Galway took the spoils. This defeat brought the curtain down on Tipp’s great revival, however, Ryan did collect a second National League title in 1994.
The next few years saw Limerick and Clare dominate the provincial series of games. After defeat after a draw and a replay in the Munster final of 1996, Ryan lined out in the provincial decider again in 1997. Clare provided the opposition on that occasion, however, it was an occasion to forget for Ryan as Tipp lost a close and exciting game by 1-18 to 0-18. The introduction of the new ‘back-door’ system resulted in both Clare and Tipperary meeting for the second time in the first all-Munster All-Ireland final. The game itself was one of the best of the decade. Clare were well on top for much of the game, however, Liam Cahill and Eugene O'Neill scored twice for Tipp in the last ten minutes. John Leahy missed a goal chance in the last minute while another Tipp point was controversially ruled wide. At the full-time whistle Clare had won by a single point – 0-20 to 2-13.
Ryan added a third National League medal to his collection in 1999; however, further success in the championship still eluded him with provincial final defeat again in 2000.
In 2001 Tipp made a third consecutive appearance in the National League final. After one victory and one defeat Ryan's side were successful again and defeated Clare by 1-19 to 0-17. It was Ryan's fourth winners’ medal in that competition. Later that year Tipp contested the Munster final. Tipperary defeated Limerick by 2-16 to 1-17 on that occasion giving Ryan a fifth Munster winners' medal. After a draw and a replay against Wexford Ryan later lined out in Croke Park in a fifth All-Ireland final. Old rivals Galway provided the opposition on that occasion; however, two goals by Tipp’s Mark O'Leary gave the Munster men the threshold to withstand a Galway comeback. With nine minutes to go Ryan's side only led by one point, however, Tipperary outscored Galway by five to three in those closing minutes. At the final whistle Tipperary were the winners by 2-18 to 2-15.[10] Not only did Ryan collect his third All-Ireland winners' medal but he also joined an exclusive club of players to have won championship titles in three separate decades. Following this victory Ryan retired from inter-county hurling.[11]
In October 2006 Ryan took over from Liam Sheedy as manager of the Tipperary Minor hurling team. In his first year in charge Tipperary won the Munster Minor Hurling Championship with a 0-18 to 1-11 win against Cork in the final. Tipperary went all the way to the All Ireland minor final after a 1-19 to 2-12 win against Kilkenny in the semi final, which was followed by a 3-14 to 2-11 win again against Cork in the final.[12] In 2008, Tipperary reached the Munster final against Cork but were defeated by 0-19 to 0-18. They went on to reach the All Ireland Minor semi final where they lost to Kilkenny by 1-14 to 3-17.[13] Ryan was succeeded as Minor hurling manager by Mark O'Leary in 2009.
On 9 November 2010, Ryan was appointed as the Tipperary Senior hurling manager on a two-year term, succeeding Liam Sheedy.[14] He will be joined by Tommy Dunne as the new team coach, with Michael Gleeson of Tipperary county champions Thurles Sarsfields completing the new Tipperary hurling management team.[15] Ryan's first game in charge was in January 2011 in the 2011 Waterford Crystal Cup against WIT where Tipperary were defeated by a scoreline of 2-17 to 1-19 in Clonmel.[16][17] His first league game in charge took place on 12 February 2011 against Kilkenny, in a 1-10 to 1-17 defeat at Semple Stadium.[18] His first league win came in the third round on 5 March 2011 against Waterford by 1-20 to 0-18 under the floodlights at Semple Stadium.[19] On 29 May 2011 in Ryan's first Championship game as manager, Tipperary defeated Cork by 3-22 to 0-23 at Semple Stadium.[20][21] On 10 July 2011, in his first Munster Final as manager, Tipperary defeated Waterford by 7-19 to 0-19 at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.[22] Ryan guided Tipperary past Dublin in the semi-final to meet Kilkenny in the 2011 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final where they were defeated by 2-17 to 1-16.[23]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bobby Ryan |
Tipperary Senior Hurling Captain 1990 |
Succeeded by Declan Carr |
| Preceded by Conor Gleeson |
Tipperary Senior Hurling Captain 1998 |
Succeeded by Tommy Dunne |
| Preceded by Liam Sheedy |
Tipperary Minor Hurling Manager 2007-2008 |
Succeeded by Mark O'Leary |
| Preceded by Liam Sheedy |
Tipperary Senior Hurling Manager 2010- |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Achievements | ||
| Preceded by Christy Connery (Cork) |
All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Final winning captain 1989 |
Succeeded by Jamesie Brennan (Kilkenny) |
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