Christy Ring

Nicholas Christopher Michael Ring (12 October 1920 - 2 March 1979), better known as Christy Ring, was a famous Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with the Glen Rovers club from 1941 until 1967 and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1939 until 1963. Ring is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game. Many former players, commentators and fans rate him as the number one player of all-time.

In a game as mythologised as hurling, Ring's universally accepted pre-eminence is remarkable. Yet, he possessed everything from talent and ferocious application to longevity and a string of records. Obsessive about the game, he worked relentlessly to sustain a formidable array of techniques, complemented by great vision and anticipation. A shamanistic sense of his own distinctness added to a reputation for eccentricity, but Ring's greatness, coupled with his physical resilience and resourcefulness, also demoralised opponents.

Ring's status as one of the all-time greats is self-evident. His record of 64 appearances in championship games stood until 2011 when it was surpassed by Brendan Cummins of Tipperary, while his tally of 33 goals and 208 points in these games was a record score which stood until the 1970s when it was surpassed by Eddie Keher. His haul of eight senior All-Ireland medals, all won on the field of play, was a record which stood for over a decade until it was equalled by John Doyle. Ring also won a record eighteen Railway Cup medals with Munster. No other player in the history of the competition has gone into double figures. Ring is also one of only three hurling men to captain his county to three All-Ireland successes.

Ring has also been the recipient of many awards and honours off the field. In 1959 at the age of thirty-nine his hurling prowess earned him the prestigious Caltex Hurler of the Year award. He was posthumously honoured in 1984 when he was named, by popular opinion, in the right wing-forward position on the GAA Hurling Team of the Century. He was named in the same position on the GAA Hurling Team of the Millennium in 2000.