Jim Ronayne
Encyclopedia
James Ronayne was an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Dungourney
Dungourney GAA
Dungourney GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Dungourney, County Cork, Ireland. The club fields teams in both Gaelic football and hurling. It is a member of the Imokilly division of Cork GAA. The club was one of the strongest clubs in the Cork during the first decade of the 20th...

 and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1902 until 1912.

Club

Ronayne played his club hurling with his local Dungourney
Dungourney GAA
Dungourney GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Dungourney, County Cork, Ireland. The club fields teams in both Gaelic football and hurling. It is a member of the Imokilly division of Cork GAA. The club was one of the strongest clubs in the Cork during the first decade of the 20th...

 team in Cork and enjoyed some success. He won three county senior championship
Cork Senior Hurling Championship
The Evening Echo Cork County Senior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in the county of Cork in Ireland....

 titles in all, with victories coming in 1902, 1907 and 1909.

Inter-county

Ronayne first tasted success on the inter-county scene with Cork in 1902 when he lined out in his first Munster final. Limerick
Limerick GAA
The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...

 provided the opposition on that occasion and n exciting contest ensued. At the final whistle Cork were the winners by 2-9 to 1-5 and Ronayne collected a coveted Munster
Munster Senior Hurling Championship
The Munster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Munster in Ireland....

 winners’ medal. Cork subsequently defeated Galway
Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...

 and Dublin
Dublin GAA
Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Dublin GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin. The county board is also responsible for the Dublin inter-county teams...

 were later defeated as Cork booked their place in the All-Ireland final with London
London GAA
The London County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or London GAA is one of the county boards outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in London...

 providing the opposition. The game was played in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

 to mark the opening of the new Cork Athletic Ground
Páirc Uí Chaoimh
Páirc Uí Chaoimh is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in the Ballintemple area of Cork in Ireland, where major hurling and Gaelic football matches are played. It is the home of Cork GAA...

. Ronayne’s side made no mistake on this occasion and powered to a 3-13 to 0-0 victory. It was a huge triumph for Cork and gave Ronayne a coveted All-Ireland
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....

 winners’ medal.

Ronayne was a key member of the Cork team again in 1903. That year he collected a second Munster winners’ medal as Cork defeated Waterford
Waterford GAA
The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county...

 by 5-16 to 1-1. Cork later received a walkover from Galway before defeating Kilkenny
Kilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...

 in the ‘home’ championship decider. London provided the opposition for a third time in the proper All-Ireland final, however, Ronayne played no part in the game. Cork were well on top for the entire game and secured a 3-16 to 1-1 victory.

In 1904 Ronayne and Cork were attempting to capture a third All-Ireland title in-a-row. The campaign began well with Cork defeating Tipperary
Tipperary GAA
The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...

 to secure a fourth consecutive Munster title. A subsequent trouncing of Antrim
Antrim GAA
The Antrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Antrim GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Antrim. The county board is also responsible for the Antrim inter-county teams...

 set up an All-Ireland final showdown with Kilkenny. It was the beginning of a hugely successful era for ‘the Cats’ as Cork were heading into decline. Kilkenny won the game thanks to Dick Doyle
Dick Doyle
Richard ‘Dick’ Doyle was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Castlebridge and with the Wexford senior inter-county team in the early 1900s. Doyle captained Wexford to their first All-Ireland title in 1910.-Biography:...

’s first-half goal, while Pat ‘Fox’ Maher
Pat Maher
Patrick 'Fox' Maher was an Irish hurler who played as a goalkeeper for the Kilkenny senior team.Maher made his first appearance for the team during the 1893 championship and became a regular player over the next decade. During that time he won one All-Ireland winner's medal and eight Leinster...

 made great save at the end to help his team to a 1-9 to 1-8 defeat of Ronayne’s side.

For the second time in their history Cork secured a fifth consecutive Munster title following a 7-12 to 1-4 trouncing of Limerick. It was a fourth provincial winners’ medal ain-a-row for Ronayne. For the second year in-a-row Cork later faced off against Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final. The game was a high-scoring affair with Cork winning by 5-10 to 3-13. The game, however, had to be replayed as Cork goalkeeper Daniel McCarthy was a British army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 reservist and Kilkenny’s Matt Gargan
Matt Gargan
Matt Gargan was a famous Irish sportsperson who played hurling with the Kilkenny. In a senior inter-county career that lasted from 1905 until 1917 he won six All-Ireland titles and five Leinster titles.-Teams:...

 had played with Waterford in the Munster championship. The game was another high-scoring one, with Jimmy Kelly
Jimmy Kelly (hurler)
Jimmy Kelly was a famous Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Mooncoin and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team from 1904 until 1913....

 scoring 5-2. A puck-out by Cork’s Jamesy Kelleher
Jamesy Kelleher
Jamesy Kelleher was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Dungourney and with the Cork senior inter-county team in the 1900s and 1910s. Kelleher's inclusion on Cork's Hurling Team of the Century marks him out as one of his county's greatest-ever players.-Biography:Jamesy...

 is said to have hopped over the Kilkenny crossbar. Kilkenny won the game by 7-7 to 2-9, with all seven of their goals coming in a thirty-minute spell. It was the second time in four years that Ronayne had ended up on the losing side in an All-Ireland final.

Cork failed to make it six-in-a-row in Munster in 1906, however, the team bounced back in 1907. That year Ronayne picked up a fifth Munster winners’ medal following a 1-6 to 1-4 defeat of Tipperary
Tipperary GAA
The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...

. Cork later reached the All-Ireland final with Kilkenny providing the opposition again. A high-scoring, but close, game developed between these two great rivals once again. As the game entered the final stage there was little to separate the two sides. Jimmy Kelly scored three first-half goals while Jack Anthony
Jack Anthony (hurler)
Jack Anthony was a famous Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Piltown and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team from 1904 until 1907....

 scored Kilkenny’s winning point at the death. Cork went on two late goal hunts; however, the final score of 3-12 to 4-8 gave Kilkenny the win. It was Ronayne’s third time ending up on the losing side in an All-Ireland final.

Five years past before Ronayne added a sixth and final Munster title to his collection. Because of a delay in the championship the 5-1 to 3-1 defeat of Tipperary allowed Cork to advance to the All-Ireland final. Arch-rivals Kilkenny provided the opposition again, however, Ronayne played no part in the game.

Teams

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