Ballygunner boss Jason Ryan closes the circle with 'special' All-Ireland win

The Waterford side clinched the title with a win over Loughrea on Sunday.

WHO'S THE BAS? Ballygunner’s Pauric Mahony celebrates with manager Jason Ryan. Pic INPHO/James Crombie

Jason Ryan lived in London for a good shot of his 20s. It’s where he received his third-level education and where he entered the working world as a PE teacher. His best mate over there was a fella from Crossmolina.

Come St Patrick’s Day, there’d be no squeezing into crowded Irish bars in the vicinity of Leicester Square. The pair would instead pilgrim home to Croke Park to spectate at the club finals.

On Sunday afternoon, 25,392 paying customers spectated Ryan and his brilliant Ballygunner team. A surreal centre-stage role on a day so familiar to him.

“We would have travelled over a few times for Crossmolina’s All-Ireland finals, and at the time it would have been hard to believe I’d be back in here and involved with a team winning an All-Ireland club,” Ryan began.

“Coming here as a spectator on St Patrick's Day used to be such a special day, so to be back here and be involved is very, very special.”

When Darragh O’Sullivan stepped down last February after six seasons in charge, the vacant Ballygunner post was attractive and unattractive.

The talent jumped off the page. Success locally was almost a given. Against that, nothing bar an All-Ireland would suffice. The successor was also inheriting a group of players knocked back by three successive late-season defeats.

Ballygunner turned to the former Wexford and Kildare football manager. The outsider got them to that glorious destination of a second All-Ireland.

The outsider, whether you believe him or not, said yesterday that there was no fixation on the destination of a second All-Ireland and cementing their status as one of the all-time great club hurling teams.

“I never heard them mention trying to be a great team or being seen as a great team, but they want to be the best that they can be. And to be the best that you can be, you need to keep winning games, whether it's in Waterford or Munster or in the All-Ireland.

“For sure they've been hurt in losing games, and when we talk about games that they've lost, they're able to pinpoint different incidents or different times or different things that they did or didn't do that they want to chase after.

“So that whole cliche of you learn more in defeat than you do in victory, they've learned an awful lot from defeats, and they're happy to share it with coaches and management. And I suppose if we listen and try to take it on board and work with them, then that should make us better and stronger.” 

Hailing previous managements headed up by the aforementioned Darragh O’Sullivan, David Franks, Fergal Hartley, and Denis Walsh, Ryan insisted the foundation was already long in place. His job was a subtle “tweak” here and there.

“The players are an incredibly driven, hungry group and they take an awful lot of decisions upon themselves, and we would encourage them to be making decisions on the field to deal with different things that are thrown at them.

“You often hear about managers coming in, but in Ballygunner, the senior players create the environment and set the standards. It’s an ideal situation. The Ballygunner players deserve the credit for doing that.”