Fergal Ryan

Fergal Ryan (born 17 February 1972 in Blackrock, County Cork, Ireland) is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Blcakrock and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1992 until 2002.^[1]

Biography

Fergal Ryan was born in the Cork suburb of Blackrock in 1972. He was educated locally at Scoil Barra Naofa Buachaillí in nearby Beaumont and later attended the famous Coláiste Chríost Rí. It was here that his interest in Gaelic games was first developed. Ryan later worked as a sales representative with United Beverages, becoming regional manager in 2003.

Playing career

Ryan first started playing senior hurling with Blackrock in the late 1980s. His skill was quickly spotted by the Cork inter-county selectors and he quickly joined the panel. He made his debut against Clare in 1995, however, Ryan's arrival on the scene coincided with one of the bleakest spells in Cork hurling. Between his debut and 1999 Ryan only ended up on the winning side on just one occasion. His only senior success of note was a National Hurling League medal with Cork in May 1998. In 1999 Cork were back at the top, having won their first Munster Championship title since 1992, with Ryan playing a key role in defence.

Later that year Cork defeated Kilkenny to win their first All-Ireland title since 1990. Ryan finished off the year by claiming an All-Star Award, along with fellow defenders Diarmuid O'Sullivan and Brian Corcoran. 1999 finished on an even higher note for Ryan when his club, Blackrock, won the Cork Senior Hurling Championship for the first time in 14 years. As a result Ryan was awarded the captaincy of the Cork inter-county hurling team for 2000. That year Ryan guided Cork to a second consecutive Munster title, however, his side were defeated by Offaly in the All-Ireland semi-final. While Ryan's hurling career should have gone from strength to strength Cork's hurling fortunes took a remarkable downturn, culminating in a players strike in 2002. By the time the team made the breakthrough in 2003 Ryan's name had disappeared from the panel.

References

Teams