Tom Ryan (born 1944 in Ballybrown,

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

, Ireland) is an Irish former

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 ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and player. He played hurling with his local club Ballybrown and was a member of the

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 ...

senior inter-county team from 1973 until 1976. Ryan later served as manager of both the Limerick and

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

senior inter-county teams.

Playing career

Club

Ryan played his club hurling with his local club in Ballybrown.

Inter-county

Ryan began his playing career with Limerick in the 1960s and went on as a substitute for

Bernie Hartigan Bernard Hartigan (born 1943) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a midfielder for the Limerick senior team. Hartigan made his first appearance for the team during the 1964 championship and was a regular member of the starting for the ne ...

in the 1973 All Ireland Final which Limerick won, beating

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 ...

by 1–21 to 1–14. He started the 1974 All Ireland final as a right half back but Limerick were beaten by Kilkenny 3–19 to 1–13. He also won 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 ...

as a player in 1971.

Managerial career

Limerick

Ryan took over as Limerick senior hurling manager from

Phil Bennis Philip Bennis (born 1942) is an Irish hurling manager and former player. At club level, he played with Patrickswell GAA, Patrickswell and at inter-county level with the Limerick senior hurling team. Bennis later served as a manager at club and i ...

in the late summer of 1993 and remained as manager until 1997. He won two Munster titles in 1994 and 1996 as a manager, and won a National Hurling League in 1997. He was removed immediately after that success following a frosty relationship with the Limerick county board officers. He was replaced as manager by

Éamonn Cregan Éamonn Cregan (born 21 May 1945) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, hurler and manager. He is best remembered for his success with Limerick, as a player in the 1970s and then as manager of various club and inter-county teams in the 1980s an ...

Westmeath

Ryan was appointed manager of the

senior hurling team in November 2003. After two unsuccessful years in this position, he stepped down in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Tom 1944 births Living people Ballybrown hurlers Limerick inter-county hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Hurling managers 20th-century Irish sportsmen