Timmy Ryan - Playing Career - Inter-county

Inter-county

Ryan first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Limerick senior hurling team in 1930. At that stage Limerick were down the pecking order in terms of the top teams in the Munster Championship. All this changed in 1933 when Limerick defeated the reigning provincial champions of Clare, giving Ryan his first Munster title. The subsequent All-Ireland final pitted Limerick against Kilkenny - the winners of the championship in 1932. The game was a low-scoring affair with ‘the Cats’ claiming the title on a score line of 1-7 to 0-6. In 1934 Limerick began their fightback by claiming the National Hurling League title. Ryan, who was captain of the team for the next two seasons, later added a second Munster medal to his collection as the team trounced Waterford. In their second consecutive All-Ireland final appearance Limerick faced Dublin. The metropolitans proved to be no pushover as the game ended in a draw on a score line of 2-7 to 3-4. The replay saw Limerick capture the title by five points giving Ryan his first All-Ireland medal. 1935 saw Limerick capture a second National League title in-a-row before retaining their third consecutive Munster title. The All-Ireland final saw Limerick take on Kilkenny again. Limerick had had a fantastic run of 31 unbeaten games; however, Kilkenny put an end to this by defeating Ryan’s side by just a single point. In 1936 Ryan added a fourth National League medal to his collection before collecting a fourth consecutive Munster medal. For the third time in four years Kilkenny provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland final. Limerick, however, had the measure of ‘the Cats’ on the day and claimed victory on a score line of 5-6 to 1-5. It was Ryan’s second All-Ireland medal. In 1937 Ryan captured an amazing fifth National League medal; however, Limerick later lost their provincial crown. Three years later in 1940 Limerick regained their Munster title after an epic battle with Cork giving Ryan his fifth provincial title. In the subsequent All-Ireland final the two outstanding teams of the decade, Kilkenny and Limerick, did battle once again. ‘The Cats’ were not the force of old as a third All-Ireland medal went to Ryan following a 3-7 to 1-7 victory. It was Ryan’s last major title with the Limerick inter-county hurlers.