P. J. Ryan

For the Tipperary hurler, see P. J. Ryan (Tipperary hurler).

P. J. Ryan

Personal information
Irish name	P. S. Ó Riain
Sport	Hurling
Position	Goalkeeper
Born	15 June 1977 (1977-06-15) (age 34) Johnstown, County Kilkenny, Ireland
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Occupation	Student
Club(s)
Years	Club
1995-present	Fenians
Club Titles
Kilkenny titles	0
Inter-county(ies)*
Years	County	Apps (scores)
2003-present	Kilkenny	18 (0-00)
Inter-county titles
Leinster titles	8
All Irelands	3
NHL	2
All Stars	1
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 10 September 2010.

Patrick James "P. J." Ryan (born 15 June 1977 in Johnstown, County Kilkenny, Ireland) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Fenians and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 1999.

Playing career

Club

Ryan plays his club hurling with his local Fenians club in Johnstown and has enjoyed some success. He first came to prominence at under-age levels where he secured his first winners' medals. After winning county minor 'B' championship and county under-21 'B' championship titles, Ryan subsequently joined the club's senior team. He has appeared in two county finals, however, the club has not won a county title since 1977, the year of Ryan’s birth.^[1]

Minor and under-21

Ryan first came to prominence on the inter-county scene in the mid-1990s as a member of the Kilkenny minor hurling team. He lined out in the provincial decider in that grade in 1995, with Offaly providing the opposition. 'The Cats' were far too strong on that occasion and a 4-16 to 2-6 trouncing gave Ryan a Leinster title in the minor grade. Kilkenny later qualified for an All-Ireland final showdown with Cork. The game was an exciting affair with the result remaining in doubt until the final whistle. In the end, a 2-10 to 1-12 defeat was Ryan's lot.

Ryan subsequently joined the Kilkenny under-21 hurling team. After a two-year period in the wilderness 'the Cats' contested the provincial decider in 1998. Dublin were the opponents, however, Kilkenny had just enough. Ryan kept a clean sheet as he picked up a Leimster under-21 winners' medal after a 2-10 to 0-12 victory. The All-Ireland series was not a happy hunting ground. Kilkenny were beaten in the semi-final by Galway.

Senior

In 2002, Ryan joined the Kilkenny senior panel as substitute goalkeeper and understudy to James McGarry. That year he shared in the county’s Leinster and All-Ireland victories from the subs bench. Ryan, however, was a regular for ‘the Cats’ in the National Hurling League and secured a winners' medal in this competition in 2003. Later that year, he made his championship debut against Dublin, however, McGarry took over goalkeeping duties for the latter stages of the competition.^[2] Once again, he shared in Kilkenny’s Leinster and All-Ireland victories as a substitute. In 2005 and 2006, Kilkenny triumphed in Leinster again, however, Ryan still failed to dislodge McGarry as the first-choice goalkeeper. He was still a substitute when Kilkenny defeated Cork in the 2006 championship decider.

In 2007 Ryan finally took over from McGarry in the number one spot. That year he won his first Leinster title on the field of play following a defeat of Wexford, however, in the All-Ireland semi-final against Wexford he broke a bone in his arm and it looked as if he would miss out on his big chance of appearing in an All-Ireland final. Ryan made a miraculous recovery just in time for the final where, surprisingly, Limerick provided the opposition. Kilkenny got off to a flying start with Eddie Brennan and Henry Shefflin scoring two goals within the first ten minutes. Unfortunately, inspirational forward Shefflin sustained an injury during the game and had to retire at half-time. In spite of losing their captain and star player, and in spite of Ryan conceding a goal, Kilkenny still went on to win the game by 2-19 to 1-15.^[3] It was Ryan's first All-Ireland medal on the field of play.

2008 saw Kilkenny launch an all-out attack in an attempt to capture a third All-Ireland title in-a-row. The team had an easy passage through the Leinster Championship, however, the opening half of the provincial final against Wexford gave ‘the Cats’ another minor scare. In the end Ryan collected his second Leinster medal after a 5-21 to 0-17 victory. This victory allowed Kilkenny to advance directly to the All-Ireland semi-final where arch-rivals Cork were the opponents. The game was an interesting encounter; however, Kilkenny claimed a 1-23 to 0-17 victory. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Kilkenny take on Waterford. It was their first meeting in the championship decider since 1963. A classic game of hurling was expected by many, however, Kilkenny started stronger. Two goals by Eddie Brennan after twenty minutes effectively killed the game, however, ‘the Cats’ ploughed on and recorded an enormous 3-30 to 1-13 victory over their near neighbours. Ryan, after giving an excellent performance in goal all season, was withdrawn after fifty minutes to make way for the former goalkeeper James McGarry.^[4]

At the start of 2009 Kilkenny proved that they were still the masters of hurling by cruising into the final of the National League. Tipperary provided the opposition and attacked and harassed 'the Cats' from the throw-in. The Munster men stormed into a decisive lead as they took the game by the scruff of the neck; however, ‘the Cats’ clawed their way back into the game. At the end of normal time both sides were level. A period of extra-time followed, however, in spite of a 2-26 to 4-17 defeat, Tipp were widely lauded for their performance.^[5] Ryan conceded four goals in that game, however, he picked up his second National League winners' medal on the field of play. The subsequent championship campaign went to plan, with Kilkenny reaching yet another provincial final. Dublin, the new kids on the block were the opponents, and another tets of Kilkenny took place. Ryan kept a clean-sheet once again and a 2-18 to 0-18 victory gave him a third consecutive Leinster winners' medal.^[6] An exciting semi-final victory over Waterford allowed KIlkenny to advance to a fourth consecutive All-Ireland final. That game was a replay of the National League final, with Tipperary providing the opposition. For much of the match it looked as if Tipp would pull off a shock and deny 'the Cats' a record-equaling four-in-a-row. Ryan gave a remarkable display of his often under-appreciated goalkeeping skills and denied Tipperary four goal chances. The game was characterised by tit-for-tat scores, however, two quick goals in the space of a minute sealed a 2-22 to 0-23 victory. With that Kilkenny became the second team to capture four All-Ireland titles in-a-row in hurling.^[7] It was Ryan's third All-Ireland winners' medal on the field of play. He was later named Man of the Match and picked up his first All-Star award.

References

1. ^ "Club Profile". Fenians GAA. 2008-12-17. http://www.fenians.ie/feniansclub.htm#profile. Retrieved 2008-12-17. 
2. ^ "Class tells as Cats overpower brave Dubs". Irish Examiner. 2003-06-09. http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2003/06/09/story643039211.asp. Retrieved 2008-12-17. 
3. ^ "RTÉ Sport: Kilkenny 2-19 Limerick 1-15, by Tomás McCarthy". RTÉ Sport. 2007-09-03. http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/championship/2007/0903/tomamccarthy.html. Retrieved 2008-09-17. 
4. ^ "Kilkenny 3-30 Waterford 1-13 matchtracker". RTÉ Sport. 2008-09-07. http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/championship/2008/0907/kilkenny_waterford_tracker.html. Retrieved 2008-09-17. 
5. ^ "RTÉ Sport GAA Championship: Kilkenny 2-26 Tipperary 4-17 (AET)". RTÉ Sport. 2009-05-03. http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/championship/2009/0503/kilkenny_tipperary.html. Retrieved 2009-07-29. 
6. ^ "RTÉ Sport: GAA - Kilkenny 2-18 Dublin 0-18". RTÉ Sport. 2009-07-07. http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/championship/2009/0705/kilkenny_dublin.html. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 
7. ^ "RTÉ Sport: GAA - As it Happened: Kilkenny 2-22 Tipperary 0-23". RTÉ Sport. 2009-09-06. http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/championship/2009/0906/matchtracker.html. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 

Awards
Preceded by Brian Cody (Kilkenny)	All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final Man of the Match 2009	Succeeded by Lar Corbett (Tipperary)

Teams

Persondata
Name	Ryan, P. J
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1977-06-15
Place of birth	Johnstown, County Kilkenny
Date of death
Place of death