Patrick James "P. J." Ryan (born 15 June 1977) is an Irish hurler who played as a goalkeeper for the Kilkenny senior team.

Born in Johnstown, County Kilkenny, Ryan first played competitive hurling during his schooling at Thurles CBS. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Kilkenny minor team, before later joining the under-21 side. He joined the senior panel during the 1999 championship. Ryan later became a regular member of the starting fifteen, and won three All-Ireland medals, four Leinster medals and two National League medals on the field of play. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion.

As a member of the Leinster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions, Ryan won two Railway Cup medals. At club level Ryan continues to play with Fenians.

Ryan's father, also P. J. Ryan, won three All-Ireland medals as reserve goalkeeper to Noel Skehan between 1974 and 1979.^[1]

Throughout his career Ryan made 18 championship appearances. He announced his retirement from inter-county hurling on 18 January 2012.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Playing career[edit]

Club[edit]

Ryan plays his club hurling with the Fenians club in Johnstown and enjoyed much success during his underage career. In 1995 he won a championship medal in the minor "B" grade following a narrow 1–14 to 1–13 defeat of John Locke's.

Two years later in 1997 Ryan was a key member of the club's under-21 team. He won a championship medal in the "B" grade once again, following a 1–11 to 1–2 trouncing of Piltown.

Minor and under-21[edit]

Ryan first played for Kilkenny in 1995 when he joined the minor side. He won his first Leinster medal that year following a 4–16 to 2–6 defeat of Offaly. The subsequent All-Ireland decider pitted Kilkenny against old rivals Cork, with Ryan lining out in goal. The game turned into a rout as Cork won easily by 2–10 to 1–2.^[9]

In 1998 Ryan was a key member of the Kilkenny under-21 team. A 2–10 to 0–12 defeat of Dublin in the provincial decider gave him his sole Leinster medal in that grade.

Senior[edit]

Beginnings[edit]

In 1999 Ryan first linked up with the Kilkenny senior team. In the week leading up to the All-Ireland final with Cork, reserve goalkeeper Martin Carey broke his finger and had to withdraw.^[10] Ryan was quickly drafted onto the panel, however, he remained on the bench for Cork's narrow 0–13 to 0–12 victory.^[11]

Reserve goalkeeper[edit]

Ryan was off and on the panel over the next few years and remained as third-choice goalkeeper, before taking over as second to James McGarry in 2002. That year he was an unused substitute as Kilkenny made a clean sweep by claiming the National League, Leinster and All-Ireland titles.^[12][13]

In 2003 Ryan won his first league medal on the field of play as Kilkenny came back from eight points down to secure a stunning 5–14 to 5–13 extra-time defeat of Tipperary.^[14] On 7 June 2003 Ryan made his senior championship debut in a 3–16 to 0–10 Leinster semi-final defeat of Dublin.^[15] He was dropped to the substitutes' bench for all subsequent games, as Kilkenny went on to retain the Leinster and All-Ireland crowns.^[16][17]

Ryan remained as an unused substitute over the next three years, but collected another two league medals, two Leinster medals and an All-Ireland medal.^{[18][19][20][21]}

First-choice goalkeeper[edit]

In 2007 Ryan took over as Kilkenny's first-choice goalkeeper. That year he won his first Leinster medal on the field of play as Kilkenny asserted their provincial dominance and defeated Wexford by 2–24 to 1–12.^[22] On 2 September 2007 Kilkenny faced defeated Munster finalists and surprise All-Ireland semi-final winners Limerick in the championship decider. Kilkenny got off to a flying start with Eddie Brennan and Henry Shefflin scoring two goals within the first ten minutes to set the tone. Limerick launched a second-half comeback, however, "the Cats" were too powerful and cruised to a 2–19 to 1–15 victory.^[23] It was Ryan's first All-Ireland medal on the field of play.

Kilkenny secured the Leinster crown again in 2008, with Ryan collecting a second successive winners' medal following a 5–21 to 0–17 drubbing of Wexford.^[24] On 8 September 2008 Kilkenny faced Waterford in the All-Ireland decider for the first time in forty-five years. In a disappointingly one-sided final, Kilkenny produced a near perfect seventy minutes as Waterford endured a nightmare afternoon. A 23-point winning margin, 3–24 from play, only two wides in the entire match and eight scorers in all with Eddie Brennan and Henry Shefflin leading the way in a 3–30 to 1–13 victory.^[25] It was Ryan's second All-Ireland medal.

Ryan collected a second league medal on the field in 2009, as Kilkenny beat Tipperary by 2–26 to 4–17 with a thrilling extra-time victory.^[26] He later won a third successive Leinster medal as new challengers Dublin were bested by 2–18 to 0–18.^[27] On 6 September Kilkenny were poised to become the second team ever in the history of hurling to win four successive All-Ireland championships when they faced Tipperary in the decider. For long periods Tipp looked the likely winners, however, late goals from Henry Shefflin and substitute Martin Comerford, together with a series of magnificent saves from Ryan, finally killed off their efforts to secure a 2–22 to 0–23 victory.^[28] Ryan had collected his third All-Ireland medal while he was also named man of the match. He later collected an All-Star.

Decline[edit]

In 2010 Kilkenny defeated Galway in an eagerly-anticipated but ultimately disappointing provincial decider. A 1–19 to 1–12 victory gave Ryan a fourth consecutive Leinster medal.^[29] The drive for a fifth successive All-Ireland crown reached a head on 5 September 2010, when Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland decider. "The Cats" lost talisman Henry Shefflin due to injury, while Tipperary's Lar Corbett ran riot and scored a hat-trick of goals as Ryan's side fell to a 4–17 to 1–18 defeat.^[30]

Ryan was dropped from the starting fifteen in 2011, however, he collected further Leinster and All-Ireland medals as a non-playing substitute as Kilkenny dominated the championship once again.^[31][32]

Inter-provincial[edit]

In 2006 Walsh was goalkeeper on the Leinster team that faced Munster in the inter-provincial final. Richie Power top-scored with nine points as Leinster secured a 1–15 to 1–12 victory.^[33] It was Ryan's first Railway Cup medal.

Leinster made it two-in-a-row in 2009, with Ryan collecting his second winner's medal as Leinster defeated Connacht by 3–18 to 1–17.^[34]

Honours[edit]

Player[edit]

Fenians

• Kilkenny Under-21 B Hurling Championship (1): 1997


• Kilkenny Minor B Hurling Championship (1): 1995

Kilkenny

• 
  All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (7): 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
  


• 
  Leinster Senior Hurling Championship (10): 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
  


• 
  National Hurling League (5): 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009
  


• 
  Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship (1): 1998
  


• 
  Leinster Minor Hurling Championship (1): 1995
  

Leinster

• 
  Railway Cup (2): 2008, 2009

References[edit]