Declan Ryan

Declan Ryan (born 25 March 1968) is an Irish former hurler and team manager with Tipperary.

Ryan first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as dual player with the Tipperary minor teams in the mid-1980s.

In 1986 his inter-county career nearly ended before it began in a Munster minor hurling championship game against Cork.

Ryan, while lying on the ground, was struck in the face by a wild pull and received multiple stitches.

It was as a member of the Tipperary under-21 hurling team that Ryan enjoyed his first major success.

Regarded as one of his county's greatest hurling servants, Ryan joined the team during the 1988 championship and was a regular member of the team until his retirement after the 2001 championship.

During that time he won three All-Ireland medals, five Munster medals and four National Hurling League medals.

He has ended up as an All-Ireland runner-up on two occasions.

He is the father of two male kids, named, Jack and Tommy

At club level Ryan is a two-time county club championship medalist with Clonoulty–Rossmore.

In retirement from playing Ryan became involved in team management.

He made his debut in 1988 at a time when Tipperary's star was rising.

The year began well for Ryan as he captured a National Hurling League winners' medal following a 3−15 to 2−9 defeat of Offaly.

He later captured his first Munster winners' medal at senior level following a 2−19 to 1−13 victory over Cork.

The subsequent All-Ireland final pitted Tipperary against reigning champions Galway.

A 1−15 to 0−14 score line resulted in victory for Galway and defeat for Ryan.

In spite of this disappointment he finished off his debut season by receiving his first All-Star award.

In 1989 Clonoulty–Rossmore qualified for the final of county senior championship for the first time in 101 years.

Reigning champions Loughmore–Castleiney provided the opposition on that occasion, however, history was on the side of Ryan and his club.

A narrow 1–-11 to 1–9 score line gave Clonoulty–Rossmore a county title.

In 1989 he was captain of the team that defeated Limerick by 5−16 to 1−16 to take the Munster title.

Tipperary later had a 4−10 to 3−11 victory over Offaly to take the All-Ireland title.

By this stage Ryan was already a key feature on the Tipperary senior panel.

In 1989 Tipperary were still the best team in Munster and Ryan won his second provincial title in-a-row after a 0−26 to 2−8 trouncing of Waterford.

The All-Ireland final saw Tipperary face surprise semi-final winners Antrim.

It was an historic occasion as it was only the second appearance of an Ulster team in the championship decider.

Antrim’s relative inexperience robbed the final of any real element of contest and Tipp romped home to a 4−24 to 3−9 win, courtesy of a star performance by Nicky English.

Because of this Tipp preserved their record of being the only team to win an All-Ireland title in every decade in GAA history.

It was Ryan's first senior All-Ireland winners' medal.

After surrendering their provincial and All-Ireland titles in 1990, Tipp returned the following year to defeat Cork in a thrilling Munster final replay.

It was 1997 before Ryan lined out in his second county championship decider.

Mullinahone were the opposition on that occasion, however, Clonoulty proved too strong once again.

A 0–17 to 1–12 score line gave Ryan a second county title to add to his collection.

In 1998 Clonoulty–Rossmore were given the opportunity to make history by retaining their championship title when the club qualified for the county final once again.

Toomevara were the opponents on that occasion and a close game developed.

A 0–16 to 1–10 score line resulted in defeat for Ryan's side.

He guided the Tipperary minor hurling team to a second consecutive All-Ireland title in 2007 before later winning back-to-back Munster titles with the Tipperary senior hurling team.

An All-Ireland title eluded the team and Ryan stepped down as manager after two years in September 2012.

Ryan played his club hurling with the Clonoulty–Rossmore club and enjoyed much success in a career that spanned three decades.

After coming to prominence as an under-age player Ryan later established himself on the club's senior team.