, County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

) is 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 plays hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

 with his local club Sarsfield's and has represented the Cork senior inter-county team. He was the captain of the squad called up by Gerald McCarthy to replace the striking 2008 panel.

Ryan comes from a hurling family, and his brother Pat is a former member of the Cork senior panel. However, Ray did not play inter-county hurling at any level until the age of 27, and was a "hurling nobody" until being called up in the wake of the strike. In 2006 his club reached the Cork Senior Hurling 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....

 semi-final and he was named at centre-back on the Cork club team of the year. He was invited to county team trials but did not make the 2007 squad. It was not until 2009 that he had the opportunity to play for Cork. After the 2008 Cork panel refused to play under the management of Gerald McCarthy, Ryan was among the players called up by McCarthy to replace them. He had won the 2008 Cork Senior Hurling 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....

 with Sarsfields, and was one of six Sarsfields players called up by McCarthy.

He was named as the captain for the 2009 National Hurling League

National Hurling League

The National Hurling League is an annual hurling competition between the county teams of Ireland. Contested by 35 teams , it operates on a system of promotion and relegation between four different divisions, with Division One...

. He is the first captain of Cork from the Sarsfields club in 51 years. Ryan did well at centre-back for Cork in the opening games of the competition. Although he was sent off with a yellow card against Dublin in Cork's opening fixture, he impressed against Tipperary in the next game.

Ray Ryan was also selected for Munster hurlers

Munster GAA

The Munster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Munster.-Constituent counties:*Cork*Clare*Kerry*Limerick*Tipperary*Waterford-Honours:...

 in the Railway Cup in February 2009. He was one of only two Cork players on the panel.

Ryan admits to experiencing some "moral dilemmas" when agreeing to play with McCarthy's squad and says that he understands the 2008 players' problems, but believes that "What they are doing is not right". He has been criticised by supporters of the 2008 squad for his role in the controversy, sometimes being called "Captain Scab" by them.

Teams