![Jackie Ryan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Jackie_Ryan.jpg)
Jackie (John) Ryan (11 August 1904 – 17 February 1954) was an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
er who primarily played as a Half Forward as well as in the Full Forward line for the
Kerry
Kerry or Kerri may refer to:
* Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Kerry, Queensland, Australia
* County Kerry, Ireland
** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...
senior team between 1924 and 1934.
Ryan won six
All-Ireland
All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...
Senior Football medals with Kerry over his ten-year career, and received favorable reviews.
Ryan was born in
Ardfert
Ardfert () is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. Historically a religious centre, the economy of the locality is driven by agriculture and its position as a dormitory town, being only from Tralee. The population of the village was 749 at the 2 ...
, before moving to
Pembroke Street and later to Dawson's Terrace, Rock Street,
Tralee
Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...
. He died in Tralee in 1954. Ryan married Agnes Mary (Aggie) Sheehy in Tralee on 25 September 1928. They had one child who died in infancy.
Family
Ryan's parents were Christopher Ryan, a sergeant in the
Royal Irish Constabulary
The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...
, and Mary Josephine McDonnell. Both Christopher and Mary Josephine were from
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
. Ryan's sisters were Babe Ryan who for many years was Postmistress in Killiardrish,
Canovee GAA
Canovee GAA is a Gaelic football club based in the villages of Canovee, Aherla and Carrigadrohid in County Cork, Ireland. The club is a member of Cork GAA and Muskerry divisional board. The club does not field hurling teams, but Cloughduv near ...
, County Cork, and Dolly Ryan O'Connor, who lived in Tralee. He had four brothers: Christy, Hugh, Jim and Pat.
Career
Ryan commenced his career with
Kerry
Kerry or Kerri may refer to:
* Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Kerry, Queensland, Australia
* County Kerry, Ireland
** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...
back in 1923. A year later he scored a goal against Mayo in a semi-final. Reports of the 1924 All-Ireland final reads, "Jackie Ryan showed the style of a master craftsman with superb fielding and passing as Kerry defeated
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
by 1-5 to 1 3". He collected his first County Championship medal in
hurling
Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...
that year with
Tralee Parnells
Tralee Parnells are a hurling club from the town of Tralee in County Kerry, Ireland.
Original club
The original Parnells won 2 Kerry Senior Hurling Championships in 1918 and 1919. All Ireland winning football captain and one of Kerry's great ...
. On to 1925, he won the County Championship both in Football and Hurling with Tralee. His second Senior All Ireland medal came in 1926. In the semi-final against Cavan, Jackie struck a pile driver past Kiernan in the Cavan goals and later scored the best point of the game from over 50 yards out. Kerry defeated Kildare after a replay in an epic All-Ireland final. He also won his second Kerry County Championship medal that year with Tralee. In 1927 he won his only
Railway Cup
The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...
medal with Munster. He won his first
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
medal in 1928 when Kerry defeated Kildare, the reigning All Ireland Champions in the final. Ryan won his third County Championship medal, this time with Boherbee. He won his second National League medal and his third All-Ireland medal.
In 1932 Kerry was going for their first four in-a-row to equal Wexford's record. The headlines after the game read, "Ryan and Landers switch did the trick". This was Ryan's sixth and final All-Ireland medal.
He also collected his third National League medal in 1932, and won his last Kerry County Championship medal when Rock Street defeated North Kerry by one point in the county final. He won his last two major medals in 1933 and 1934 to bring his total of Munster championship medals to nine. He had played 39 championship games for Kerry between 1923 and 1934.
Internment
Ryan was one of a number of Kerrymen interned at the Curragh 1922–1923.
Mainly a hurler until then, it was there that he honed his Gaelic Football skills. On release the ex-internees played two challenge games in early 1924 against the current Kerry team. They were defeated 5 points to one in the first game but won the second by four goals and four points to four points.
He played for Kerry from 1924 until his retirement in 1932.
In the press
As the 1920s were approaching, football had yet to get a real stranglehold on the county. Along the lanes and streets of Tralee and in the fields of north Kerry, some fine hurlers were emerging,. Jackie Ryan was still a teenager in 1919 when the county board called a special meeting to discuss the state of Gaelic games in Kerry. Din Joe Baily – a man under whose gentle and politically-neutral watch the games in the county prospered – was influential on the board at the time and after this meeting had concluded, Kerry saw a clear road ahead. Importantly; the backbone of the team that would dominate the coming decade – with Jackie Ryan as a vital cog – was also forming.
On the field, Ryan was regarded as a crafty, scientific forward. 'When Mikey Sheehy was growing up, people in Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
Stacks used to say he's going to be another Jackie Ryan,' says Barrett. 'That was the cut of a player he was. Total style. He had this extraordinary talent for chipping the ball when it was rolling away from him,' he says. 'That was his trademark. And we're talking about a time when players wore cumbersome, orthopaedic boots with big steel toe caps.
'' Tipp came surging back in search of victory but Barrett held his ground and kept'' them at bay. When Tipperary started to tire John Joe Sheehy took the lead for
Kerry with a point from a free and then Jackie Ryan blasted an unstoppable shot into the back of Tipperary's net.
Still the initiative had been very definitely taken from Mayo Mayo often refers to:
* Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo"
* Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States
Mayo may also refer to:
Places
Antarctica
* Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land
Australia
* Division of Mayo, an Aust ...
, and by the end of the third quarter Kerry had gone five points ahead. Three of the points, by Jackie Ryan, came. off frees to Tim Landers, and the other two were scored by Con Brosnan and Miko Doyle. (1932 All Ireland Final)
''One ball rules all others in'' Kerry though and it is the love and respect for that ball which is why they rule. For every hour Tadghie Lyne spent on the hardfloor, he'd spend countless others in his garage, kicking and catching a football suspended by its laces from the rafters, or in Fitzgerald Stadium, attempting points from the
corner flag. Jackie Ryan would hone on Rock Street the knack of chipping the rolling ball.
Awards, championships and recognition
*
1924 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
*
1926 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
*
1929 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
*
1930 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
*
1931 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
*
1932 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
The 1932 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the 45th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1932 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland.
Mayo l ...
*Four National League medals
*Kerry team of the Millennium 1900–1949
*Three Railway Cup medals. He played every year from 1924 to 1932 for Munster.
*He was selected to play for Ireland in the 1932
Tailteann Games
*He won numerous Kerry County Football and Hurling Championship Medals with Rock Street. (9 Munster Championships, 3 County Championships - Hurling)
*He was selected on the 1900-1949 Kerry Team of the Millennium in 1999.
*In 1954 he was selected on the Greatest Football Team of All Time (until then) in the Irish Press.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Jackie
1904 births
1954 deaths
Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers
Tralee Parnells Gaelic footballers
People from Ardfert