THE CHALLENGE OF taking charge of a well-oiled sporting machine that has been dominant and relentless in the accumulation of silverware.
Jason Ryan stepped into the Ballygunner hotseat for 2025, overseeing a team that had won the previous 11 Waterford titles and contested the previous seven Munster finals, winning four of them.
Demands and targets.
He rose to meet both, yesterday’s provincial decider triumph at the expense of Éire Óg Ennis coming off the back of the latest expression of their Waterford dominance in early September.
If it seemed a tough managerial challegne to navigate, Ryan viewed it differently when taking charge of such a playing group.
“There’s guys that I’ve known since they were in school, so there’s different types of connections there. It’s brilliant. This group aren’t tricky to manage. It’s as simple as that. They’re just incredibly motivated.
“It’s player-driven. The culture is fantastic. The work by David Franks and Darragh O’Sullivan was just absolutely tremendous. And the work by the underage coaches in the club. The culture in the place is just fabulous. They strive for success, and the players, they keep driving that.”
Ballygunner manager Jason Ryan James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Ballygunner’s appetite for the contest was glaringly evident. The memories of twelve months previously against Sarsfields lingered. They may have been facing newcomers in Éire Óg but that didn’t permit an element of arrogance to creep in.
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“How we set up and how training goes and what kind of conversations you have sets the scene,” says Ryan.
“We can’t underestimate the talent of Shane O’Donnell and David Reidy, Aaron Fitzgerald has had an amazing year, so we’re well aware of the dangers of so many of their players. We were very diligent in the last two weeks.”
Their ten-point interval advantage was trimmed to seven during the third quarter as the rain began to sweep across the Thurles surface on the last day of November. That was when Ballygunner dug in for the show of graft.
“The conditions were fairly raw in the second half, but you don’t care. It’s winter hurling, that’s what we think the guys are used to. They’ve all played Harty Cups, county minors and twenties, They’re used to those kind of conditions.”
Their win was decorated by a seven-point showing from Dessie Hutchinson. Not his highest tally in a Munster final, the 1-5 against Kilmallock in 2021 bettered that, but it brought him to 3-19 from play in his last five provincial deciders.
Éire Óg's Aaron Fitzgerald and Ballygunner's Dessie Hutchinson. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“He’s a real driving force,” outlined Ryan.
“I know he’s a hurling and Gaelic football background, coming from a soccer background, his desire and the way trains, people on the outside wouldn’t realise how hard he actually works.
“I’m not surprised that he performed so well today. You can pick up pockets of space in different places, and Dessie did that really well. I thought he was really clever today in his decisions.”
Victory brought Ballygunner’s record to 14 wins from 15 Munster championship outings since November 2021. The defeat to Sarsfields is the only aberration in a run of extraordinary consistency.
Their latest Munster title elevates the club to a higher tier, out on their own at the top of the roll of honour instead of sharing it with Blackorck.
“We were aware of it,” admitted Ryan.
“What an honour. You talk about the Blackrocks and the Cummins’ and the incredible success they had. As a player, you have a window, and you want to make the most out of that. That’s what we’re trying to do.
“For the guys, if they take their foot off the pedal, there’s a young lad that wants to come in and take it. If it’s not a young lad, it’s a guy that’s been there for five or six years that is chomping at the bit to get there. The likes of Harry Ruddle has been fighting for a number of years. An opportunity came for him, and he’s had an absolutely tremendous season. He’s just an example of you fight to get your chance, and then when it comes, you do everything you can to hold on to the jersey.”
Down the corridor, there were post-match reflections in defeat. Gerry O’Connor can rightfully acknowledge the seismic nature of this 2025 season for his club. Their long-awaited breakthrough on the domestic front took place, taking home the Canon Hamilton trophy in Clare after a 35-year wait. Their squad is teeming with bright, rising talents.
And when the last game of the year ends in defeat, there is a sobering sense to it. After duelling it out successfully with Tipperary’s finest Loughmore-Castleiney at the semi-final stage, the final was a reminder of the heights they must reach in order to succeed beyond the Clare arena.
O’Connor painted a picture of teams at different points in their life cycles.
“They’re ten years down the road in terms of their preparation. We’ve two years done, some of our lads have a year done. And it was always the fear factor with an inexperienced team like that. We’re thrilled to have come out and represented Clare, but ultimately it was just a step too far. 15 minutes into that game, the writing was on the wall really.
“They’re just an exceptional team, what can we say? Their pace from the middle third and their running off the shoulder, we just weren’t able to get to grips with that.
“We now know the bar that’s required to take the next step for us. And that’s probably important, that we’ve a winter ahead of us at training and we know exactly where that bar is. But it’s a large gap based on what we saw out there today.”
For Ballygunner, another challenge will soon swing into view. They will be rightly showered with praise for their Munster prowess and yet at the same time the conversion rate into All-Ireland titles is hard to ignore. The 2022 success stands alone. They have been disapppointed and frustrated and sometimes luckless in their attempts to add to it.
Another chance beckons in three weeks against whoever emerges from the Leinster contest between St Martin’s and Ballyhale Shamrocks. A hurling showdown a few days before Christmas won’t prompt complaints.
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“I’m a novice, so this is all new for me,” says Ryan.
“We don’t really think about it. We’re big believers in go after what you can control. It’s a bit like the eight-week break from the Waterford county final to the first (round) of Munster. We never even discussed it. It is what it is.
“What are you going to just do to maximise it and make the most out of it? We’ll do the same with this. It’s a great place to be.”
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'It's player-driven. The culture is fantastic' - Ballygunner the Munster masters once more
THE CHALLENGE OF taking charge of a well-oiled sporting machine that has been dominant and relentless in the accumulation of silverware.
Jason Ryan stepped into the Ballygunner hotseat for 2025, overseeing a team that had won the previous 11 Waterford titles and contested the previous seven Munster finals, winning four of them.
Demands and targets.
He rose to meet both, yesterday’s provincial decider triumph at the expense of Éire Óg Ennis coming off the back of the latest expression of their Waterford dominance in early September.
If it seemed a tough managerial challegne to navigate, Ryan viewed it differently when taking charge of such a playing group.
“There’s guys that I’ve known since they were in school, so there’s different types of connections there. It’s brilliant. This group aren’t tricky to manage. It’s as simple as that. They’re just incredibly motivated.
“It’s player-driven. The culture is fantastic. The work by David Franks and Darragh O’Sullivan was just absolutely tremendous. And the work by the underage coaches in the club. The culture in the place is just fabulous. They strive for success, and the players, they keep driving that.”
Ballygunner’s appetite for the contest was glaringly evident. The memories of twelve months previously against Sarsfields lingered. They may have been facing newcomers in Éire Óg but that didn’t permit an element of arrogance to creep in.
“How we set up and how training goes and what kind of conversations you have sets the scene,” says Ryan.
“We can’t underestimate the talent of Shane O’Donnell and David Reidy, Aaron Fitzgerald has had an amazing year, so we’re well aware of the dangers of so many of their players. We were very diligent in the last two weeks.”
Their ten-point interval advantage was trimmed to seven during the third quarter as the rain began to sweep across the Thurles surface on the last day of November. That was when Ballygunner dug in for the show of graft.
“The conditions were fairly raw in the second half, but you don’t care. It’s winter hurling, that’s what we think the guys are used to. They’ve all played Harty Cups, county minors and twenties, They’re used to those kind of conditions.”
Their win was decorated by a seven-point showing from Dessie Hutchinson. Not his highest tally in a Munster final, the 1-5 against Kilmallock in 2021 bettered that, but it brought him to 3-19 from play in his last five provincial deciders.
“He’s a real driving force,” outlined Ryan.
“I know he’s a hurling and Gaelic football background, coming from a soccer background, his desire and the way trains, people on the outside wouldn’t realise how hard he actually works.
“I’m not surprised that he performed so well today. You can pick up pockets of space in different places, and Dessie did that really well. I thought he was really clever today in his decisions.”
Victory brought Ballygunner’s record to 14 wins from 15 Munster championship outings since November 2021. The defeat to Sarsfields is the only aberration in a run of extraordinary consistency.
Their latest Munster title elevates the club to a higher tier, out on their own at the top of the roll of honour instead of sharing it with Blackorck.
“We were aware of it,” admitted Ryan.
“What an honour. You talk about the Blackrocks and the Cummins’ and the incredible success they had. As a player, you have a window, and you want to make the most out of that. That’s what we’re trying to do.
“For the guys, if they take their foot off the pedal, there’s a young lad that wants to come in and take it. If it’s not a young lad, it’s a guy that’s been there for five or six years that is chomping at the bit to get there. The likes of Harry Ruddle has been fighting for a number of years. An opportunity came for him, and he’s had an absolutely tremendous season. He’s just an example of you fight to get your chance, and then when it comes, you do everything you can to hold on to the jersey.”
Down the corridor, there were post-match reflections in defeat. Gerry O’Connor can rightfully acknowledge the seismic nature of this 2025 season for his club. Their long-awaited breakthrough on the domestic front took place, taking home the Canon Hamilton trophy in Clare after a 35-year wait. Their squad is teeming with bright, rising talents.
And when the last game of the year ends in defeat, there is a sobering sense to it. After duelling it out successfully with Tipperary’s finest Loughmore-Castleiney at the semi-final stage, the final was a reminder of the heights they must reach in order to succeed beyond the Clare arena.
O’Connor painted a picture of teams at different points in their life cycles.
“They’re ten years down the road in terms of their preparation. We’ve two years done, some of our lads have a year done. And it was always the fear factor with an inexperienced team like that. We’re thrilled to have come out and represented Clare, but ultimately it was just a step too far. 15 minutes into that game, the writing was on the wall really.
“They’re just an exceptional team, what can we say? Their pace from the middle third and their running off the shoulder, we just weren’t able to get to grips with that.
“We now know the bar that’s required to take the next step for us. And that’s probably important, that we’ve a winter ahead of us at training and we know exactly where that bar is. But it’s a large gap based on what we saw out there today.”
For Ballygunner, another challenge will soon swing into view. They will be rightly showered with praise for their Munster prowess and yet at the same time the conversion rate into All-Ireland titles is hard to ignore. The 2022 success stands alone. They have been disapppointed and frustrated and sometimes luckless in their attempts to add to it.
Another chance beckons in three weeks against whoever emerges from the Leinster contest between St Martin’s and Ballyhale Shamrocks. A hurling showdown a few days before Christmas won’t prompt complaints.
“I’m a novice, so this is all new for me,” says Ryan.
“We don’t really think about it. We’re big believers in go after what you can control. It’s a bit like the eight-week break from the Waterford county final to the first (round) of Munster. We never even discussed it. It is what it is.
“What are you going to just do to maximise it and make the most out of it? We’ll do the same with this. It’s a great place to be.”
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Ballygunner Champions club GAA Hurling Munster Waterford