Raymond Ryan (18 November 1981 – 25 February 2025) was an Irish hurler. At club level, he played with Sarsfields and at inter-county level with 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 ...

. Ryan

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

ed the squad called up by Gerald McCarthy to replace the striking 2008 panel.

Career

After progressing through the juvenile and underage ranks with the Sarsfields club, Ryan made his senior team debut in 2000. He claimed his first silverware in 2008, when Sarsfields won the Cork SHC title after beating Bride Rovers by 2–14 to 2–13 in the final. Ryan claimed further Cork SHC titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. He won an East Cork JAHC medal with the club's junior team in 2016, before ending his senior team career in 2017. Ryan first appeared on the inter-county scene with

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

when he was part of the extended training panel in 2007; however, he did not make the final panel. Two years later, he was one of a number of players called up by team manager Gerald McCarthy to replace the 2008 Cork panel who refused to play under his management. Ryan was named

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

and made a number of appearances 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 ...

. He was retained on the panel when the striking players returned, and continued to line out with Cork until 2011. Ryan was also selected for

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 ...

in 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 ...

, and was one of only two Cork players on the panel in February 2009.

Personal life and death

His brother Pat was part of Cork's All-Ireland SHC-winning team in 1999, before later serving as manager of the Cork under-20 and senior teams. Ryan was a member of the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

and was stationed in

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...

. Ryan died on 25 February 2025, at the age of 43.

Honours

;Sarsfields *

Cork Senior Hurling Championship The Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PSHC) is an annual club hurling competition organised by the Cork County B ...

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 ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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 ...

East Cork Junior A Hurling Championship The East Cork Junior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Michael O'Connor Motor Factors East Cork Junior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Imokilly Board of the Gaelic Athletic Ass ...

: 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Ray 1981 births 2025 deaths Cork inter-county hurlers Garda Síochána officers Munster inter-provincial hurlers Sarsfields (Cork) hurlers 21st-century Irish sportsmen