Thomas O. Ring (1939 – 1 July 2020) was an Irish hurler. At club level he played for a number of clubs, including

Castlepollard Castlepollard ( or ''Cionn Toirc'') is a village in north County Westmeath, Ireland. It lies west of Lough Lene and northeast of Lough Derravaragh and Mullingar. Name The name ''Castlepollard'' comes from the name of a castle or fortified m ...

and Kilmacud Crokes, and was a long-time member of the Westmeath senior hurling team.

Playing career

Born in

, Ring was the son of a

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 * ...

-born father and a

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia ** Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

-born mother and first played hurling when he joined the local

club. He earned a call-up to the Westmeath minor team in

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

, before later moving to Cork and lining out with the Meelin club as a junior. On his return to Castlepollard, Ring won a county minor medal in 1956 and was promoted to the Westmeath senior team as goalkeeper at 18 years of age, a position he retained on and off for a further seven years. After winning a National League Division 2 in

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

, he ended the year by captaining Castlepollard to a county senior championship. Work brought Ring to

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 ...

, where he hurled for New Irelands for three years before later joining the Kilmacud Crokes club. By this stage he had switched from goalkeeper to midfielder and forward with the Westmeath senior team and claimed a second Division 2 title in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

before becoming one of the top marksmen of the 1960s and early 1970s. After his inter-county career ended in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, Ring continued to line out with Kilmacud Crokes and won county senior championship medals in 1974 and 1976. In retirement he came to be regarded as one of Westmeath's greatest-ever hurlers and was selected in the right wing-forward position on the Westmeath Hurling Team of the Millennium.

Personal life

Ring died in Rathcoole,

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

on 1 July 2020. He was survived by his wife Therese and six children. His son, Connie Ring, lined out with the Craobh Chiaráin club and was a member of the Dublin senior hurling team.

Honours

;Castlepollard * Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship (1): 1961 (c) ;Kilmacud Crokes *

Dublin Senior Hurling Championship The Dublin Senior Hurling Championship () is an annual hurling competition organised by the Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) since 1887 for the top hurling clubs in County Dublin, Ireland. Sixteen clubs compete. In ...

(2): 1974, 1976 ;Westmeath * National Hurling League (Division 2) (2): 1960-61, 1963-64 ;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 ...

(1):

;Awards *Westmeath Hurling Team of the Millennium: Right wing-forward

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ring, Tommy 1939 births 2020 deaths Meelin hurlers Kilmacud Crokes hurlers Westmeath inter-county hurlers Leinster inter-provincial hurlers People from Castlepollard 20th-century Irish sportsmen