Declan Ruth (born 30 April 1976) is an Irish hurling manager and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

. He is the current manager of his hometown club Rapparees, having enjoyed a lengthy career with them as a player, while he also lined out with the Wexford senior hurling team. Ruth usually lined out as a defender.

Playing career

Ruth first came to prominence at juvenile and underage levels as a dual player with the Shamrocks GAA club, before transferring to the

Rapparees GAA Rapparees Starlights GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland. The club fields teams in hurling as Rapparees and in Gaelic football as Starlights. History The Rapparees Starlights club was foun ...

club. He eventually progressed onto the club's top adult teams and won two

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

titles as a Gaelic footballer. Ruth first appeared on the inter-county scene as a member of the Wexford minor team before later winning consecutive Leinster Under-21 Championship titles. He made his first appearance for the Wexford senior hurling team in an Oireachtas Cup game against Clare in November 1995. Ruth was a non-playing substitute on the Wexford team that beat

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

in the 1996 All-Ireland final. He had earlier won a Leinster Championship medal as a non-playing substitute and, after being dropped from the team for a period, returned to win a second provincial title in 2004.

Managerial career

Ruth has been involved in coaching and team management at all levels with the Rapparees club. In 2021 he managed the club's senior team to a first

title in 43 years.

Personal life

Ruth was educated at Enniscorthy CBS before later completing a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Business Studies and Accountancy at the

Waterford Institute of Technology The Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Phort Láirge) was an institute of technology, located in Waterford, Ireland. The institute had six constituent schools and offered programmes in business, engineerin ...

. He later worked as a sales rep for a number of medical companies and also spent some time as an analyst on RTÉ's ''

the Sunday Game ''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 1 ...

''. In 2009, Ruth married Wexford camogie player Aoife O'Connor.

Honours

Player

;Starlights *

Wexford Senior Football Championship The Wexford Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Wexford GAA clubs. The Wexford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1886. The 2022 champions are Castlet ...

: 2002, 2004 ;Wexford * All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: 1996 *

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurl ...

: 1996, 2004 *

Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling All-Ireland Under-20 Championship known simply as the Leinster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the hig ...

: 1996,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

Manager

;Rapparees *

Wexford Senior Hurling Championship The Wexford Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Pettitt's SuperValu Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Wexford GAA clubs. The Wexford County Board of the Gaelic Athl ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruth, Declan 1976 births Living people Rapparees hurlers Wexford inter-county hurlers Wexford inter-county Gaelic footballers Leinster inter-provincial hurlers Hurling managers