Inniscarra's Bob Ryan reflects on his many roles in Cork GAA

Former chairman of the Cork County Board Bob Ryan is continuing his work ethic in his role as treasurer of the Munster Council.

Ryan has been involved in GAA for many years and after playing hurling and football with his club Inniscarra he decided he wanted to give something back to his beloved sport.

“I was born into the GAA; my father and grandfather were GAA men to the core, and I had three brothers very active. My older brother Mick was a Cork minor and after Inniscarra, went to win major honours with Glen Rovers,” Ryan said.

After giving great service to his club, in which he picked up a leg injury, Ryan drifted into various roles.

“I was asked to go in as vice-chairman of my club in the late '80s before moving into chairman and at the time we had a long-standing county board delegate named Donal O’Callaghan who sadly passed away suddenly.”

Replacing a great man like Donal wasn’t an easy task but Ryan was encouraged to take on the role.

Basically, nobody showed any great interest in doing the job and that started my journey in various roles within the board, from development office, PRO, vice-chairman, and chairman, all demanding roles.”

To work within the Cork County Board or in similar roles Ryan believes you need passion.

“You get consumed in it, and starting out I had a young family and eventually they all played with Inniscarra as it was part of our lives.”

The present role outside of Cork is the responsibility of keeping the Munster Council purse strings in order. He is in his second year in the position, with one more to come.

In previous years Ryan has worked with the old regime of the Cork County Board and he praised the role that Frank Murphy gave to the office of runaí over many years.

“I think Frank Murphy will go down as one of the greatest administrators that the sport has ever produced in this country and don’t think many even came near him.

“The bottom line is that Frank did a lot for other counties and also for many individuals and was never afraid to voice his opinion, but for me personally he was always a good adviser when I needed him.”

Ryan is delighted with how Cork are doing in hurling, believing the future looks bright.

“We can only look at Sars winning the Munster Senior Club Championship and to be fair they played very well deserving their win.

Cork hurling in general has suffered over the last few years. 

"I put that down to previous strikes and it has taken us that amount of time to get over that period.”

CLOSE

The regime has impressed Ryan as he reflected on last season’s near miss.

“We went so close last season under Pat Ryan and his management team just getting pipped at the post and they have done a super job.

There is a good group of players and hopefully they will be rewarded next season, but hurling at the top tier is competitive and you have no guarantees.”

Football in this county doesn’t get the same support as the hurlers and Ryan reflected on the decline.

“In recent years the Cork sports public haven’t bought into Gaelic football, which is a shame, and it must be said we have been fighting an uphill battle in trying to restore the glory days.

“There seems to be a disconnect in Cork between East, the city and West in producing good football teams and finding the right answers is not easy.”

DEBATE

In recent times the fallout in the northside of Cork, with the decline of St Nick’s, Na Piarsaigh, and St Vincent’s, has led to strong debate within the GAA in this city.

“I am chairman of a committee on the Munster Council that is presently looking at the northside clubs in Cork. We have met with various clubs and hopefully we can come up with a solution to halt the slide in this region.

There seems to be a disconnect between the people on the ground and the GAA and we first must get that connection right.”

So, after giving his life to the sport what stands out for Ryan during his long career?

“I would have to say being chairman of the development committee of Páirc Uí Chaoimh and looking at the finished product of this great facility makes me very proud.”