Neil Ronan (born 1 September 1979) is an Irish retired hurler who played for North Cork club Ballyhea. He played for the

Cork senior hurling team The Cork county hurling team represents Cork in hurling and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions: the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Cha ...

at various times over a ten-year period, during which time he usually lined out as a left wing-forward. Ronan began his hurling career at club level with Ballyhea. He broke onto the club's senior team as a 15-year-old in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. He was an ever-present member of the team for the next 20 years and enjoyed his greatest success in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

when the club won the Cork Premier Intermediate Championship. Ronan's prowess also saw him selected for the Avondhu divisional team. At inter-county level, Ronan was part of the successful Cork under-21 team that won the All-Ireland Championship in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. He joined the Cork senior team in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. From his debut, Ronan was a regular member of the starting fifteen and made a combined total of 71 National League and Championship appearances in a career that ended with his last game in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. During that time he was part of two All-Ireland Championship-winning teams – in

and

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. He also secured four Munster Championship medals. Ronan retired from inter-county hurling after the 2009 All-Ireland Championship.

Playing career

St. Colman's College

Ronan played in all grades of hurling with St. Colman's College in

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,700 people. It is located in the barony (Ir ...

before progressing onto the college's senior team. On 16 March 1997, he scored ten points from full-forward when St. Colman's College defeated Nenagh CBS by 1-17 to 0-08 to win the

Harty Cup Harty may refer to: * Harty (surname), a list of people * Harty baronets, an extinct title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom * Harty, Swale, Kent, England, a village * Harty, a community in the township of Val Rita-Harty, Ontario, Canada * Dr ...

. On 27 April, Ronan was again at full-forward and scored 1-07 when St. Colman's College defeated Good Counsel College from

New Ross New Ross (, formerly ) is a town in southwest County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the River Barrow on the border with County Kilkenny, northeast of Waterford. In 2022, it had a population of 8,610, making it the fourth-largest t ...

by 4-20 to 0-09 to win the All-Ireland Championship.

Waterford Institute of Technology

During his studies at the

Waterford Institute of Technology The Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT; ) was an Institutes of technology in the Republic of Ireland, institute of technology, located in Waterford, Ireland. The institute had six constituent schools and offered programmes in business, engi ...

, Ronan was selected for the institute's senior hurling team. On 28 February 1999, he scored 1-01 from right corner-forward when Waterford IT defeated

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

by 4-15 to 3-12 to win the

Fitzgibbon Cup The Fitzgibbon Cup () is the trophy for the premier hurling championship among higher education institutions (universities, colleges and institutes of technology) in Ireland. The Fitzgibbon Cup competition is administered by Comhairle Ard Oideac ...

Ballyhea

Ronan joined the Ballyhea club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. On 26 August 1995, he made his first

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 sys ...

appearance for the Ballyhea senior team in a 2-09 to 1-11 defeat of

Imokilly Imokilly () is one of the baronies of Ireland, an historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Youghal. It is one of 24 baronies in the county of Cork. Other neighbouring baronies include Barrymore to the west (whose chief town is ...

. On 24 September, he was a member of the Ballyhea team that were defeated by

Na Piarsaigh Na Piarsaigh Hurling and Football Club is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Fair Hill, Cork, Ireland. The club is affiliated to the Seandún Board and fields teams in both hurling and Gaelic football. History Located in the Fair Hill area ...

in the Cork Senior Championship final. Ronan was the top scorer in the 2002 Cork Senior Championship. He scored 2-36 from four championship appearances. Ronan played his club hurling with his local club in Ballyhea. He made his underage debut at the age of eight, and was quickly recognised as one of the club's brightest prospects. On 12 October 2014, Ronan was at centre-forward when Ballyhea defeated Newcestown by 1-17 to 0-16 to win the Cork Premier Intermediate Championship. The game was not without incident as Ronan was red-carded towards the end of the game. He was subsequently suspended for Ballyhea's Munster Championship campaign. After twenty years, Ronan played his last championship game for the club on 25 August 2015 in a 2-28 to 3-11 defeat by Imokilly in the 2015 Cork Senior Championship.

Cork

Minor and under-21

After lining out for Cork in the under-14 and under-16 grades, Ronan was later called up to the minor panel, making his only appearance at left corner-forward on 26 June 1996 in a 0-16 to 1-09 defeat by Tipperary in the

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, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of ...

. Ronan subsequently progressed onto the Cork under-21 team and won a Munster Championship medal on 23 August 1998 after coming on as a substitute in Cork's 3-18 to 1-10 defeat of Tipperary in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. He made the starting fifteen at right wing-forward for the subsequent 2-15 to 2-10 All-Ireland final defeat of

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 ...

on 20 September.

Senior

Ronan was still a member of the under-21 team when he made his first appearance for the Cork senior team on 21 February 1999. He scored a point in Cork's 0-14 to 1-09 defeat of

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 ...

in the

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 ...

. Ronan made his first championship appearance when he was selected at full-forward on 8 June for Cork's 0-24 to 1-15 Munster Championship defeat of

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. On 4 July, he won his first Munster Championship medal after a 1-15 to 0-14 defeat of reigning champions

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

. On 11 September, Ronan was at left wing-forward for the All-Ireland final against

which Cork won by 0-12 to 0-11. Ronan started at left wing-forward for Cork's first two championship games in the 2000 Munster Championship, however, he was dropped from the starting fifteen for the final on 3 July. In spite of this he won a second Munster Championship medal as a non-playing substitute following Cork's 0-23 to 3-12 defeat of Tipperary. On 14 July 2002, Ronan was at midfield for Cork's 0-21 to 1-09 defeat by Galway in the All-Ireland Qualifiers. On 29 November, Ronan and the other 29 members of the Cork senior hurling panel announced that they were withdrawing their services from the county in the hope of better treatment from the county board. The strike was ultimately resolved in the players’ favour on 13 December, however, Ronan decided to quit inter-county hurling and emigrate to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. On 20 February 2005, Ronan returned to the Cork senior team and scored seven points in a 1-20 to 0-10 National League defeat of

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 ...

. He won his third Munster Championship medal on 26 June after coming on as a substitute in Cork's 1-21 to 1-16 defeat of Tipperary in the final. On 11 September 2005, Cork faced

in the All-Ireland final for the first time since

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, however, Ronan started the game as a substitute. He came on in the 38th minute but was held scoreless in Cork's 1-21 to 1-16 victory. Ronan earned a reputation as an impact-sub during the 2006 Munster Championship. On 25 June, he won his fourth Munster Championship medal after coming on as a substitute in Cork's 2-14 to 1-14 defeat of Tipperary for the second consecutive year. Cork subsequently qualified for a fourth successive All-Ireland final, with Kilkenny providing the opposition for the third time. Ronan started the game at left wing-forward but was later replaced by Kieran Murphy in the 1-16 to 1-13 defeat. The Cork team went into decline over the next few years, however, Ronan was a regular impact sub throughout the 2007 and 2008 seasons. After playing in three of Cork's games during the 2009 National League he was an unused substitute during Cork's subsequent championship campaign. Ronan left the Cork panel following the conclusion of the 2009 All-Ireland Championship.

Munster

On 11 November 2001, Ronan was introduced as a substitute for David Forde when

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 ...

defeated

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 ...

by 1-21 to 1-15 to win the

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 ...

Career statistics

Club

Inter-county

Inter-provincial

Honours

Player

;St. Colman's College *

Dr Croke Cup The All-Ireland Post-Primary Schools Croke Cup, is an annual inter-schools hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. It is the highest inter-schools hurling competition in Ireland, and has been contested every year, excep ...

(1):

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Dr Harty Cup The Dr. Harty Cup is an annual inter-schools hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster PPS GAA division of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It has been contested every year, except on three occasions, since 1918. As the pin ...

(1):

;Waterford Institute of Technology *

(1): 1999 ;Ballyhea *

Cork Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship The Cork Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PIHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork GA ...

(1): 2014 * Cork Junior B Inter-Divisional Hurling Championship (1): 2022 ;Cork *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

(2):

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 ...

(4):

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

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

(1):

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 ...

(1):

;Munster *

(1):

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronan, Neil 1979 births Living people Ballyhea hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Alumni of Waterford Institute of Technology Waterford IT hurlers People educated at St Colman's College, Fermoy