He will be remembered for winning everything with Cork except the Liam MacCarthy Cup when the history books are written, yet Pat Ryan will also have a special place in all Rebel fans’ hearts for the way he got the county competitive again.
News at the weekend that he was stepping down after four years was not unexpected but it saddened those who would like to have seen the Sarsfields man gain the ultimate reward for a manager.
While thanking players, officials and backroom members, strangely he also had to deny rumors of a half-time bust up during the All Ireland final loss to Tipperary in which it was claimed that players threatened to walk off the team if another player was taken off at that stage.
This example surfaced almost immediately after the game as a way of explaining how the men in red had turned a six-point half-time lead into a second-half collapse which saw Tipp win by 0-15 points on a scoreline of 3-27 to 1-18.
Stating that such rumors were “disrespectful” to him and his players, the 49-year-old, who suffered the tragic loss of his brother earlier in the season, said he was standing down for family reasons.
The County Board tried to twist his arm into another three-year term at the helm while making some backroom changes but the genial former player said he had made up his mind that he could not complete that stint. That said, he stressed that he was sure he would be cheering the team to Liam victory next year.
Under him, Cork claimed a first league title in 27 years while also winning their first provincial success in seven years. It seemed everything was set up for an All Ireland victory where they were overwhelming favorites, having beaten Tipp easily in both the league and championship. However, they inexplicably produced one of the tamest halves of hurling on the changeover and ended up scoring a mere six points in the second half as Tipp ran riot.
Following reflection, Ryan said in an interview with RTE that he knew there was unfinished business and he had some regret in failing to get his team over the line in 2025.
“There is a bit of sadness, you’d hope the players don’t think you are letting them down, but the consolation I have is that I know it is the right decision for me,” he insisted.
When dealing with the rumors of the bust up, he stated: “Absolutely not. Why would we be having a blazing row when we were six points up? I don’t even know where that started from. I went back to work on the Thursday and the lads were telling me about this. It’s totally disrespectful for the players involved. There were names mentioned. It’s desperate for those things to be done to amateur players, for their names to be castigated like that.
“Maybe if we had had a row we might have come out of it better off,” he added with a smile.
Ryan went on: “I was worried at half-time, very worried. I felt that Tipp were bringing a better energy, hunting the ball harder than us. We were creating scores - Diarmuid Healy and Shane Barrett had fantastic first halves - but Tipp were frustrating what was probably perceived to be our biggest strength inside in the full-forward line.
“At the same time, our full-forward line scored the same as them, but they were driving the contest, winning the physical battles and engagements. When you are not at that pitch, when they turned the tide against us in the second half, you just can’t switch that mental side of things. Tipp put us under pressure and we made mistakes. Credit to Tipperary and their management team. They got their just rewards,” he said magnanimously.
In his statement, Ryan described 2025 as "an especially emotional and devastating year", referring to the sudden death of his younger brother Ray which he said left a huge void in his life.
Claiming that hurling had helped in the healing of such a tragedy, he emphasized: “It was always about hurling. Our connection was hurling. We would have talked six or seven times a day. That’s a huge loss to me. Whatever would have happened in 2025, it still would have been the worst year of my life. It’s something that is going to take me a while to get over. I’ll never get over it. I probably need a break to help me get through it,” he assessed.
