Ryan O'Dwyer (born 23 July 1986) is an Irish former inter-county hurler who played as a half forward for

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He continues to play club hurling with

Kilmacud Crokes Kilmacud Crokes () is a large Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Stillorgan, Dublin, Ireland. Background Kilmacud GAA club was formed in 1959 following a public meeting in Saint Laurence's Hall, where Stillorgan shopping centre no ...

. The

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

-born player previously hurled with his local club Cashel King Cormac's and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team. In 2019 O’Dwyer began coaching Longwood, a small rural club in Meath, with notable players such as Michael Burke. The team will compete in the Meath senior hurling championship of 2019.

Playing career

Club

O'Dwyer played his club

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

and football with the famous King Cormac's club in his home town. He has enjoyed some success but has never won a senior county title. In 2011 he joined Dublin side

Inter-county

;Tipperary O'Dwyer first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Tipperary minor football team in 2004. He was also a member of the county under-21 hurling team in the mid-2000s. He was a member of the panel in 2005 and went on to capture a

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

medal in that grade in 2006. The following year O'Dwyer made his senior debut in a

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

game against

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

. Later that summer he made his senior championship debut, but Tipp had little success. In 2008 the county got off to a winning start with O'Dwyer playing a key role in helping the county capture the National League title. In 2010 he was part of the Tipperary senior football panel. ;Dublin At the end of 2010 he declared for the

senior hurling team for the 2011 season. He helped Dublin to win the Walsh Cup after beating

in the final. He then played on the Dublin side which won the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

Division 1 title for the first time since the 1930s, also beating

in the final, also being named the Man of the Match. In the 2011 Leinster championship semi-final against

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, he was shown a straight red card for striking

Shane Kavanagh Shane Kavanagh (born 1983 in Kinvara, County Galway) is an Irish people, Irish sportsman. He plays hurling with his local club Kinvara GAA, Kinvara and was a member of the Galway GAA, Galway senior inter-county team. Kavanagh was Captain (Gaelic ...

with his hurley, he received a four-week suspension and so missed the Leinster final against Kilkenny. After missing the Leinster Championship final defeat against

, Ryan returned for the All-Ireland quarter final against

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

won the quarter-final, qualifying for the All-Ireland semi final for the first time since 1948. O'Dwyer scored 3–02 in the game and was awarded the man of the match award. O'Dwyer announced his retirement from inter-county in July 2018 following

's exit from the championship. He played eight seasons of hurling for his adopted county winning a

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

where he received the man of the match award in the final. O'Dwyer was also a key player on the Dublin team that won a

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 hur ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

bridging a 52-year gap having not won the competition since 1961.

Inter-provincial

O'Dwyer lined out for

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

in the

Interprovincial Championship The GAA Interprovincial Championship () 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 and Ulster GAA teams are com ...

. He secured a winners' medal in this competition in 2012 following a 2–19 to 1–15 defeat of

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

. Rugby Career In 2018 as means of keeping fit in the GAA offseason O'Dwyer joined Stillorgan-Rathfarnham RFC. He has played for two seasons, winning the 2019-2020 Leinster Branch Metro Division 4 League during that time. O'Dwyer was the clubs top try scorer during the 2019–2020 season averaging a try a game. However O'Dwyer didn't win the club's player of the year which instead went to Tommy Walsh. O'Dwyer revealed in the outtakes for the TG4 Lochra Gael programme that it is the single disappointment in his sporting career to date.

Honours

;Tipperary *

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

(1):

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

(1):

;Dublin * Walsh Cup (1):

(1):

;Leinster *

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () 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 and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

(2): 2012, 2014

References

External links

Tipperary Player Profiles
{{DEFAULTSORT:ODwyer, Ryan 1986 births Living people Tipperary inter-county hurlers Tipperary inter-county Gaelic footballers Cashel King Cormac's hurlers Cashel King Cormac's Gaelic footballers Dublin inter-county hurlers Leinster inter-provincial hurlers Kilmacud Crokes hurlers 21st-century Irish sportsmen