Michael Ryan (born 4 February 1970) 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 was the manager of the

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

senior team from November 2015 until August 2018. Born in

Upperchurch Upperchurch () is a small village in County Tipperary, Ireland. It lies in the Slievefelim Hills, just off the R503 regional road between Thurles and Limerick. Its Irish name was historically anglicised as ''Templeoughteragh'', ''Templeoughtra ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...

, Ryan first arrived on the inter-county scene as a

dual player Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

at the age of seventeen, before later joining the under-21 teams in both codes. After joining the senior football team during the 1989 championship, he made his senior hurling debut during the 1991 championship. Ryan went on to play a key role for the team, winning one

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 ...

medal, two Munster medals and one National Hurling League medal. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion. As a member of the Munster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions, Ryan won two Railway Cup medals. At club level he was a one-time

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

medallist in the intermediate grade with Upperchurch–Drombane. Throughout his career Ryan made 24 championship appearances for Tipperary. He retired from inter-county hurling following the conclusion of the 2000 championship. In retirement from playing Ryan became involved in team management and coaching. He served as a selector under

Liam Sheedy Liam is a short form of the Irish name Uilliam or the old Germanic name William. Etymology The original name was a merging of two Old German elements: ''willa'' ("will" or "resolution"); and ''helma'' ("helmet"). The juxtaposition of these elem ...

on the Tipperary senior team between 2008 and 2010, before later being appointed assistant manager under

Eamon O'Shea Dr. Eamon O'Shea (born 1958) is an Irish former hurler who played as a right wing-forward at senior level for the Tipperary and Dublin county teams. O'Shea began his senior career during the 1979 championship and was a regular player on the ...

. In October 2014, it was confirmed that Ryan will succeed O'Shea as the Tipperary manager after the conclusion of the 2015 season. In September 2016, in Ryan's first year in charge, Tipperary defeated Kilkenny in the 2016 All-Ireland Senior Hurling final by 2-29 to 2-20.

Playing career

Club

Ryan enjoyed a lengthy club career as a dual player with Upperchurch–Drombane. In 1998 he enjoyed the biggest success off his club career when he won a

medal in the intermediate grade.

Inter-county

Minor

Ryan first played for Tipperary as a dual minor in 1987. After losing out to

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 ...

in the provincial football championship, he later collected a Munster medal with the hurlers following a 2–11 to 1–9 defeat of the dame opposition. Tipperary later qualified for the All-Ireland final against

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in h ...

with Ryan lining out at right wing-back. The game was a close affair, with Tipperary eventually losing out by 2–8 to 0–12.

Under-21

Two years later in 1989, Ryan had joined the Tipperary under-21 teams in both codes. He won his first Munster medal with the hurlers following a remarkable 5–16 to 1–6 thrashing of

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 ...

. Tipperary later faced old rivals Offaly in the subsequent All-Ireland decider. A huge crowd at

O'Moore Park , image = , location = Portlaoise, County Laois, R32 CRF3, Ireland , coordinates = , opened = , renovated = 2002 , owner = Laois GAA , cost = , cap ...

of over 30,000 saw one of the great finals, as Tipperary narrowly triumphed by 4–12 to 3–11. It was a first

medal for Ryan. Ryan added a second Munster under-21 medal to his collection in 1990 as Tipperary defeated Limerick by 2–21 to 1–11. Kilkenny provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland final, however, Tipperary were defeated by 2–11 to 1–11.

Senior

Ryan made his senior championship debut for Tipperary on 9 June 1991 when he came on as a substitute in a 2–18 to 0–10 Munster semi-final defeat of Limerick. He started the subsequent Munster decider against Cork on the bench, but was once again introduced as a substitute. Although that game ended in a draw, Ryan impressed the selectors and was rewarded with a starting berth for the replay. A 4–19 to 4–15 victory gave Ryan his first Munster medal. The subsequent All-Ireland decider saw a first clash between Tipperary and Kilkenny in twenty years. The opening thirty-five minutes saw both sides trade score-for-score, however, a controversial 20-metre free, miss-hit by Michael Cleary, landed in the net and gave Tipperary a lead which they never surrendered. The final score of 1–16 to 0–15 resulted in a Tipp victory and a first

medal for Ryan. After surrendering their titles in 1992, Tipperary bounced back the following year. A 3–27 to 2–12 trouncing of Clare gave Ryan a second Munster medal. In 1994 Ryan added a National Hurling League medal to his collection following a 2–14 to 0–12 defeat of

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

. Tipperary went into decline following this and suffered a number of championship defeats, however, the introduction of the new "back-door system" saw Ryan's side reach the All-Ireland final again in 1997. Clare provided the opposition in the first all-Munster All-Ireland decider. The game itself was one of the best of the decade. Clare were well on top for much of the game, however,

Liam Cahill Liam Cahill (born 13 October 1977) is an Irish hurling Manager (Gaelic games), manager, former selector and Hurling, player. He has been manager of the Tipperary county hurling team, Tipperary county team since 18 July 2022. Playing career Coll ...

and

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Nobel Prize in Literature, literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama tech ...

scored twice for Tipperary 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 by 0–20 to 2–13. Ryan retired from inter-county hurling following Tipperary's exit from the 2000 championship.

Inter-provincial

Ryan also had the honour of lining out for Munster in the inter-provincial series of games. After defeat in 1993 and 1994, Ryan secured his first Railway Cup medal in 1995 following a narrow 0–13 to 1–9 defeat of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

. Two years later in 1997 Ryan won a second Railway Cup medal as

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

were defeated by 0–14 to 0–10.

Managerial career

Tipperary

In 2007

was appointed manager of the Tipperary senior team with Ryan serving as a selector. Over the next three seasons Tipperary secured one All-Ireland title, two Munster titles and a National League title. The management team stepped down in 2010. After two years out of management, Ryan was appointed assistant manager under

in 2012. In October 2014, it was confirmed that Ryan will succeed Eamon O'Shea as the Tipperary manager after the conclusion of the 2015 season. In November 2015, it was confirmed that Ryan will be assisted by former Tipperary player's

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...

as a selector and

Declan Fanning Declan Fanning (born 24 June 1979) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and hurler who played as right wing-back for the Tipperary senior team. Born in Killenaule, County Tipperary, Fanning first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of sev ...

as a coach. On 22 May 2016, in Ryan's first

Championship match A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

as manager, Tipperary defeated

by 0-22 to 0-13 at Semple Stadium in the 2015 Munster Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final. On 10 July 2016, Tipperary won the 2016 Munster Hurling Final against

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

on a 5-19 to 0-13 scoreline. On 14 August 2016, Tipperary qualified for the

2016 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final The 2016 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final was the 129th event of its kind and the culmination of the 2016 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. It was played at Croke Park in Dublin on 4 September 2016. This was the 18th All-Irela ...

after a 2-19 to 2-18 victory over

in the semi-final at Croke Park. On 4 September 2016, Tipperary won their 27th All-Ireland title after a 2-29 to 2-20 win against Kilkenny in the final. On 22 April 2017, Tipperary lost the

2017 National Hurling League The 2017 National Hurling League was the 86th season of the National Hurling League for county teams. Clare were the defending champions, winning the title for the first time since 1977–78 after a 1–23 to 2–19 win against Waterford in a ...

final to

on a 3-21 to 0-14 scoreline. Ryan described the defeat as the worst performance of his time in charge. On 26 September 2017, it was confirmed that Ryan would continue as Tipperary manager on a new three-year term. On 2 August 2018, Ryan along with his management team stepped down after a disappointing

year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hou ...

which saw Tipperary eliminated early from the

Na Piarsaigh

In January 2019, Ryan was named as the new manager of Limerick club

Na Piarsaigh Na Piarsaigh are a hurling and Gaelic football club based in the north side of Cork City, Ireland. History Formation In 1943 a group of idealistic young men drawn mostly from the hurling nursery of North Mon laid the foundations of Cumann I ...

Career statistics

Manager

Honours

Player

;Upperchurch–Drombane *

Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship The Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1979 for the third-tier hurling teams in the county of Tipperary in Ireland. Th ...

(1): 1998 ;Tipperary * All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (1):

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

* Munster Senior Hurling Championship (2):

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

* National Hurling League (1): 1993–94 *

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (G ...

(1):

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

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

(2):

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

Munster Minor Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Assoc ...

(1):

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

;Munster * Railway Cup (2): 1995, 1997

Selector

;Tipperary * All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2010 * Munster Senior Hurling Championship (3):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, 2009,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* National Hurling League (1):

Manager

;Tipperary * All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (1):

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

* Munster Senior Hurling Championship (1):

;Individual *Munster GAA Manager of the Year (1): 2016 *Tipperary Person of the Year (1): 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Michael 1970 births Living people All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Dual players Hurling managers Hurling selectors Munster inter-provincial hurlers Tipperary inter-county hurlers Tipperary inter-county Gaelic footballers Upperchurch-Drombane hurlers Upperchurch-Drombane Gaelic footballers